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.
Al-Mustaqbal daily quoted wikileaks
cable number 1799 published by the U.S. embassy in Lebanon on November 16, 2007 as saying
that Energy Minister Jibran Bassil sought, during his meeting with Pol/Econ
Chief at his home on November 14, to convince the Americans that Change and
Reform bloc Leader MP Michel Aoun deserves the upcoming presidency and that he
is the only one committed to U.N. Security Council resolution 1559 and 1702.
Asked to give his assurances that Aoun would not participate in a second
government, Bassil said “Aoun will decide at the last minute,” admitting that a
second government probably would lead to chaos. Bassil warned that “Hezbollah
not only has arms, but popular Shia support, so they can easily take over.”
“Aoun has been fighting Syria for years”, Bassil claimed. “Furthermore,
he is the only candidate with a credible plan for dealing with Hezbollah; since
it is impossible to tell Hezbollah to put down its arms immediately, he said,
Aoun's strategy was to postpone the confrontation and deal with it in a year or
two,” he added.
Al-Mustaqbal daily quoted Public Works
Minister Ghazi Aridi on Monday as saying that “discussions of a mechanism to
pay Lebanon’s share of the STL costs are ongoing.”
“The STL will be funded eventually. It is in Lebanon’s interest to do
so, especially since it has publicly voiced its commitment to the tribunal”,
Aridi added.
Al-Joumhouria daily quoted Lebanese
Forces Leader Samir Geagea on Monday as saying that “the majority of the
political positions taken on the STL funding are far cry from the essence; The
issue is being discussed from a technical perspective while it is a matter of
justice.”
Commenting on the Syrian tanks crossing into Lebanese borders, Geagea
said “The striking thing about the repeated Syrian violation of Lebanese
sovereignty is that certain foreign governments, notably the French, have
issued a statement to express concerns over this infraction at a time when the
Lebanese government has not issued any statement on this matter, an act that is
borderline treason.”
An-Nahar daily quoted Change and Reform
bloc Leader MP Michel Aoun on Monday as saying that he outright opposes the STL
funding.
Aoun explained that his opposition reflects his personal position and
not that of other parties, stressing that “Hezbollah can approve the funding
but personally, I will not, for it is a matter of principle; We cannot pay for
the Tribunal without an agreement with the U.N. Security Council.”
“I reject the STL funding for we will be spending money illegally. I am
against neither justice nor the Tribunal itself,” he added.
“By endorsing the STL, PM Najib Mikati and Finance Minister Mohammad
Safadi are acting in contravention of the constitution and laws; Can the U.N.
force states to pay a kickback?”
As-Safir daily quoted Speaker Nabih Berri
on Monday as saying that “we should not issue irreversible judgments on the
state budget for it may be amended when discussed at cabinet or parliament.”
“There are other resources to cover the wage hike. Now we realize the
importance of moving quickly on the oil drilling in order to increase the
income of the treasury”, he added.