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.
According to
As-Safir newspaper, Speaker Nabih Berri revealed that he will meet President Michel Sleiman before Eid Al-Adha in order to prepare for a national dialogue under the chairmanship of the president, adding that they will discuss the technical parts and the outcomes as well as the positive impacts that the dialogue will have on the political life in Lebanon.
Berri will try to get clear answers from the president regarding the latest statements of political figures mentioning that “they support a national dialogue but…” adding that this “but” should not prevent anyone from participating.
The newspaper reported that PM Najib Mikati, Hezbollah, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun and the head of the National Struggle Front MP Walid Jumblatt are ready now to resume the national dialogue, adding that March 14 forces still need to give a clear stance regarding that issue, especially that the Future Movement expressed its reservation on several occasion.
“If I find during my meeting with President Sleiman a solid ground to launch the dialogue, I will seriously start an open discussion with the head of the Future Movement bloc Fouad Seniora”, Berri was quoted as saying.
“A national dialogue should start very soon without prejudgments as we need to discuss a lot of critical and pending issue in order to protect Lebanon against all the external changes threatening its security and internal unity”.
Berri told the
As-Safir that it would preferable if no political parties in Lebanon get involved in the current unrest in Syria, adding that “Some people don’t want to respect the treaties and the agreements between Lebanon and Syria in order to negatively affect the brotherhood relationship, as we should all distance ourselves and our country from these unrests”.
According to
An-Nahar daily, sources close to the General Ashraf Rifi described the attack on the General Directorate of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces as being “empty and irrelevant”, wondering why some parties in Lebanon defend Amer Omar Adib accused of weapons smuggling on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
The sources added that Adib operates within an armed group funded by some members of the Syrian diaspora in the Gulf to buy weapons and ammunition from the local black-market and ensure its transfer to Syria especially in the areas where the security situation is at risk.
An-Nahar reported that after that the General Security Department arrested Omar Adib and admitted that he was involved in such actions; the Military judge ordered the arrest of the remaining members involved in clandestine actions and violating the law at the border.
“We wonder how they still defend him especially given Adib was caught in the act at the border”, the sources were quoted as saying. Asked about the timing of this “political attack” on the General Security Department, the sources told
An-Nahar that the department is in full control of most of the crossings at the borders especially those in al-Aboudiya area as it reduced all human trafficking, weapon smuggling and other illegal actions at the border, and that obviously dissatisfied some people in Lebanon.
Sources close to the Free Patriotic Movement told
As-Safir newspaper that there are some differences in the stances between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), but whoever thinks that this might affect the 2006 agreement between the two parties are mistaken.
In this regard, the newspaper added that when the General Secretary of Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan said after the July war that “Hezbollah owes the Free Patriotic Movement till the end of days”, it signaled the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two parties.
The sources added that it is true that Hezbollah’s priority now is to protect PM Najib Mikati’s government despite what the head of the FPM MP Michel Aoun thinks of it, especially that he expressed his dissatisfaction with the slow reform process. “If Hezbollah was to choose between the current government and his alliance with Aoun, he will eventually choose to keep his strong ties with the FPM for its strategic background”, the sources were quoted as saying.
As-Safir mentioned that Hezbollah refuses the idea that its political support forGeneral Aoun is conditional so Aoun could provide it with an “Orange Christian Umbrella” to protect the resistance. In this regard, Sayyed Nasrallah expects courageous stances on behalf of General Aoun to preserve this alliance and defend it despite all internal and external pressures, as he praised Aoun’s ability in influencing his Christian supporters who made a great step in the last five years to preserve the internal unity and Muslim-Christian relations.
According to
Al-Akhbar daily, the Iranian government conveyed a message to the American administration asking it to publically apologize for adopting false information about the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States Adel Jubair’s assassination plot.
Diplomatic sources following the American-Iranian tensions told the newspaper that the Iranian message mentioned that the United States should show a responsible stance and apologize to the Iranian Government and to the accused, calling for compensation for the psychological and physical harm it brought to the accused Iranians.
The sources added that Iran condemns such a fabricated scenario based on nonexistent facts and false information as it breaches international laws and regulations.
The Iranian government mentioned that the such fabrication might be the start of an upcoming war on Iran just like the US administration fabricated facts and events to invade Iraq in 2003 causing the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and imposing huge debts on the American citizens.