Libya’s Colonel Out, al-Assad: We’ll Not Bow

Mariam Ali

The twenty-second of Augusts' dawn rose on a new Arab fact: After the Tunisian President and the Egyptian Pharaoh, the Libyan Colonel was toppled.

As the Libyan rebels entered their capital Tripoli, the latter changed its green color and dressed the multicolor rainbow clothes while the Martyrs' Square (previously named the Green Square) did not know the taste of sleep or rest:

"The rebels entered and the Colonel Moammar Gaddafi is out" might be the only shinning truth as questions intensify on how US and NATO interference may confiscate the Libyan joy.

Libyan Rebels in Tripoli:

Libyan rebels entered the capital Tripoli Sunday in a final drive to oust their forty two years ruler, seizing swathes of the capital and arresting his son, Seif al-Islam.

As the rebels' wave surged into Tripoli, thousands of residents poured onto the streets to welcome them while Gaddafi's defenders melted away.

While Gaddafi's regime appeared to be rapidly crumbling, the so-called King of Africa appealed for his people to "save Tripoli" from a rebel offensive, in an audio message played on state television Sunday.

"It is the obligation of all Libyans. It is a question of life or death," he said. Gaddafi made a similar appeal earlier in the evening on state television, as rebels streamed into the capital.

For his part, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim informed a press conference that "1,300 people had been killed in the rebel assault on the capital," describing "the fighting as a real tragedy."

Meanwhile, US entered directly at the Libyan scene as US President Barack Obama rushed to announce that the Gaddafi regime was at a "tipping point" and that the "tyrant" must go, adding "a call for the rebels to respect human rights and move to democracy."

Not only in US has interests in Libya, but its other major international interference appears clearly in Syria whose President slammed any foreign interference in Damascus internal affairs.

Al-Assad: Obama's Calls Worthless

Brushing aside US and Western calls for his fall as "worthless", Syrian President Bashar al-Assad described them as coming from "countries that are committing massacres."

In an interview with Syrian Television, al-Assad pointed out that "such remarks should not be made about a president who was chosen by the Syrian people and who was not put in office by the West, a president who was not made in the United States."

The Syrian president warned that "any military action against Syria will have repercussions that will be much bigger than the West's ability to endure."

"When they speak of reforms, Western colonialist countries mean that we must give them everything they want, that we abandon resistance, that we abandon our rights ... They shouldn't even dream of it ... We will not bow."

"They expected that Syria would fall within weeks, but the Syrian people safeguarded Syria. Gunmen have intensified their operations, especially throughout last week, but I'm not worried about the security situation," al-Assad assured.

"Security authorities must confront any security problems in the country and this is the state's duty," he stressed.

On the Syrian leadership's security dealing with the latest events, President al-Assad said noted that "there is nothing called the security solution or the security alternative. There is only the political solution."
 
"We are at a transitional stage and we will follow up on the laws...there will be elections and a review of the constitution. The most important thing at this stage is to continue dialogue," he added stressing that "It is unquestionable that there will be a review of the constitution whether the target is Article 8 or the other political items."

As for the elections of the People's Assembly, the Syrian President declared that "the purpose is to allow a chance for the parties to be formed and be able to compete...the time expected for conducting the People's Assembly elections is by next February."

Time's Fabrications, Electricity

Moving to the internal Lebanese scene, the prominent development was an initiative made by "TIME's" magazine Beirut correspondent Nicolas Blandford who denied any involvement in the interview, which strengthened suspicion over its content and placed the American "TIME" magazine in the circle of suspicion and fabrication.

Denying any contact with the so-called Hizbullah suspect, Blandford told "as-Safir" Lebanese newspaper as well as "al-Manar" TV that "all there is to it, is that I received a call from TIME's editorial manager Thursday to inform me that an interview had been conducted with one of the accused in the Hariri assassination and that it will be added to the article I had written about the indictment and Hizbullah's position from it."
 
"During the course of writing a piece on the indictment the editors of TIME magazine got in touch with me and said they had an interview with one of the suspects. I was more than a little surprised to hear that so they sent me the transcript ... and I tacked on the quotes from the indictment piece," Blanford revealed.

In the same context, Lebanese General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza has confirmed that he will question "TIME" correspondent Blanford.
Mirza told "al-Joumhouria" daily that he would question Blanford on the issue and then take the necessary legal measures.
 
Lebanese judicial sources informed the paper that "the meeting between the general prosecutor and the correspondent will take place on Monday."

Commenting on the issue, Prime Minister Najib Mikati informed "as-Safir" daily that "he is waiting for the results of the investigation on the TIME magazine interview to take the appropriate action.

The PM sources said Monday that "he hopes the probe would unveil the true story behind the controversial interview and that he rejects making conclusions or statements on the issue and on everything linked to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to safeguard national unity and civil peace, confront strife and achieve justice in Hariri's case."
 
Clarifying that the government will take all necessary measures pending the end of the judiciary's investigation on the interview, the sources told the daily that "there is no justification to the campaign carried out by the opposition against the government.

"Pro-government forces are seeking to calm the situation down but "March 14" forces are making the opposite," sources stressed.

"They are asking where the state is. But has there been a state in the past four years when they were in power? Did they seek to control the security situation?" PM sources wondered.

In a parallel context, the electricity project will be discussed at a ministerial meeting held at the Grand Serail on Monday, a day before a governmental session to be held at Baabda Presidential palace.
 
"An-Nahar" Lebanese daily quoted PM Mikati's sources who emphasized that the power crisis is a priority but rejected reports that some parties in the government want electricity while others don't."

"The issue is only technical and administrative and it is inappropriate to dub it political," sources stressed to "an-Nahar".

For his part, Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour confirmed to "as-Safir" that the electricity dispute was only on technical issues.
 
"Discussions were held in the past few days with the premier and several political parties," he said.

"We will hold a technical and detailed discussion on the project and the mechanism that should be adopted for its implementation," Abou Faour noted to the daily, stressing the "importance of its swift approval."
 
UNIFIL: No Evidence of Hizbullah's Smuggling Weapons

From the South of Lebanon, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesman Neeraj Singh doesn't expect any change in the force's mission, denying that there will be any downsizing in their numbers.

"There are no indications that the French contingent numbers will be reduced," Singh told "as-Safir" newspaper Monday.
 
Moreover, UNIFIL spokesman asserted "that there is no evidence that Hizbullah is smuggling weapons to southern Litani area."

Stressing that the security of the UNIFIL is one of the Lebanese authorities' responsibility, the spokesman noted that "the probe into the attack on the French peacekeepers in the southern city of Sidon is carried out by the competent authorities in Lebanon."

Regarding the delineation of the maritime borders between Lebanon and the Zionist Entity, Singh reiterated that "UNIFIL isn't qualified to do the task."

Source : Lebanese Newspapers