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.
- Aoun: There are no
alternatives to Orthodox proposal
Head of the Change and
Reform Bloc MP Michel Aoun expressed his relief regarding the outcome of the Bkerke
meeting.
Aoun told
As-Safir daily
that he is holding on to the Orthodox gathering’s electoral draft law till the
end, noting that “there are no alternative to this draft law, because it is
simply the best one which fairly represents the Christians.”
Commenting on the positions
of the Kataeb party and the Lebanese Forces concerning the proposal, Aoun said:
“I will not judge intention, and what has been shown is a retreat from
supporting the draft law,” stressing that each party has to assume the responsibility
of its choice, whether it were in favor or not.
On the other hand, sources
close to a party participating in the Bkerke meeting and the discussions of the
parliamentary subcommittee, stressed that a “certain veto” will be used by PM
Najib Mikati and MP Walid Jumblatt to prevent the approval of the Orthodox
gathering’s proposal which states that each confession elect its own deputies.
The sources told
Acharq
al-Awsat Newspaper that adopting this electoral draft law will decrease Jumblatt’s
number of deputies, and weaken the position of Mikati within his confession. The
same sources noted that there are two choices available amid a consensus on
refusing the return to the 60s law, which are either the adoption of the
proposal presented by the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb or the resignation of
Jumblatt’s ministers in order to topple Mikati’s cabinet and prevent it from
approving the Orthodox proposal.
For his part, the head of
the National Liberal Party MP Dory Chamoun compared the Orthodox gathering’s
proposal to a “cancer of sectarianism”, stressing that this law encourages
division and sectarian conflicts in Lebanon, and stands completely against the
country’s interests. He expressed his total rejection to such a law, regardless
of the objectives and considerations.
In a statement to
al-Anbaa
Daily, MP Chamoun said that the aforementioned proposal is a “joke” and a
non-serious process, expressing surprise towards the fact that some parties
approved it.
Interior and Municipalities Minister Marwan Charbel denied that he had met
with a Turkish delegation, noting that he received only two persons, without mentioning
their identities, in order to discuss the case of the Lebanese detainees in Aazaz.
“Why do the detainees’ relatives intend to harm the Turkish interests? How do
we benefit? Did the Iranians demonstrate in Iran in order to release their
nationals from Syria?” Charbel asked, in a statement to
As-Safir newspaper.
The spokesman of the Association of al-Mokdad clan, Maher al-Mokdad told
Al-Hayat Daily that he remains oblivious to the reason behind his arrest in
mid-September 2012, noting that the clan released the Turkish detainee and
handed him over to the Director General of General Security Abbas Ibrahim
without exchange. He added, that the clan had hoped to instead pave the way for further Lebanese efforts deployed in order to
release the Lebanese detainees in Syria, mainly Hassan al-Mokdad.
On the other hand, al-Mokdad family is still refusing to bury Maher’s mother
who died a week ago, awaiting the release of the rest of the kidnapped family members.
In this context, Hassan al-Mokdad called on Hezbollah Secretary General
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to work on resolving this case and release all the
detainees.
The Saudi Newspaper
al-Watan
quoted intelligence sources as reporting that Syrian President Bashar Assad is
living with his family and a limited number of close relatives on board a military
ship in the Mediterranean Sea under Russian guardianship.
The sources added that Assad leaves the ship and enters
Syrian locations on board a helicopter and then boards a vehicle which in turn transports him to
the Palace in case he had any diplomatic meeting or official reception.