Round UP: Assad Meets Karami, Jordanian Spy Arrested in Beirut
As the Syrian scene come to the political front ahead of other local and regional scenes, it seems that what is rumored in the diplomatic circles about the end of the internal crisis in Syria began to float to the popular and media cladding.
After the French ambassador in Damascus, eggs were the only recipient for his counterpart coming from Uncle Sam's country.
And to Syria, many of the Lebanese leaders are scheduled to meet with the Syrian leadership in a move that confirms the correlation between the two countries.
Karami in Syria
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met Thursday with Lebanese former Prime Minisrter, Omar Karami and his son Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karami.
The meeting focused on the Syrian events and the attempts of targeting its security and stability. The situation in Lebanon was also discussed during the meeting.
Expressing confidence in the ability of the Syrian people and leadership to overcome the current circumstances, Karami called for vigilance over the attempts of fragmenting the region, sowing sedition in and over the dangerous effects of such attempts on the Middle East as a whole.
Karami's visit to Damascus came a day after al-Assad told former PM Salim Hoss that Syria has overcome the crisis peacefully.
Karami did not make a statement on his talks with al-Assad when he returned to Beirut. But a source close to Karami told "as-Safir" said that the former PM was "very satisfied with his meeting with Syrian President.
"Al-Assad told Karami that the protest movement has stopped in most Syrian areas and that calm is returning to the areas that were the scene of security incidents," the source clarified.
In parallel, PM Najib Mikati has hinted that he would visit Damascus soon, his first trip to the Syrian capital since the formation of his government in June, "an-Nahar" daily reported Friday.
Smuggling Goods from Lebanon, Jordanian Arrested
In parallel, "the Lebanese army on Wednesday seized five small Chevrolet trucks loaded with goods set to be smuggled into Syria at Deir al-Ashaer village on Kafarqouq-Yanta road in Rashayyia region," said the Lebanese National News Agency.
The Agency also reported that also on Wednesday the Lebanese judiciary arrested the Lebanese Iyad al-Hiq on charge of exchanging fire with the Syrian army in al-Hirmel region on the border with Syria.
It added that the Military Investigation judge, Imad al-Zein, has interrogated al-Hiq and issued an arrest warrant against him.
In a similar security context, "al-Akhbar" Lebanese daily stated that the Directorate General of General Security arrested about a week ago a Jordanian national suspected of gathering information on Director General of General Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim.
According to the sources, the suspect was transferred following investigations to the Military Court, which charged him with entering into contact with a foreign state, a crime under Lebanese law.
According to the sources, the suspect provided his handlers with information on Ibrahim's place of residence, movements and arrival times at the Directorate General.
Meanwhile, Major General Jamil as-Sayyed submitted a memorandum to the Appeals Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, in which he requested that it rejects STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare's request to suspend the delivery of documents to Sayyed.
Sayyed accused Bellemare of not abiding by legal standards and called for fining him €200,000 as compensation.
Jumblatt: I Didn't Change Position from Hizbullah
In the internal political scene, "National Struggle Front" leader MP Walid Jumblatt uncovered that he dispatched Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi to Damascus where he met with the assistant of the Syrian vice president, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nassif.
In an interview with "as-Safir" daily, Jumblatt called "the Syrian regime should to adopt qualitative and urgent reform steps."
Denying that he had changed his stance on Hizbullah's arms, Jumblatt stressed that the state should gradually absorb the weapons when the party decides on such a move and when the political and military circumstances are ripe.
"But until then, the army-people-resistance equation remains valid," he said.
Jumblatt also rejected being forced into proving his "good conduct from time to time."
"I am not in a position to sit at periodic exams or carry out blood tests to check my political choices," he added.
STL Funding to Consultations
Concerning the Special Tribunal for Lebanon funding, "an-Nahar" quoted a ministerial source who said that "the issue will be dealt with as a priority issue as of early October since it can no longer be postponed."
"It is possible to say that the moment of truth has come in this respect."
Predicting that "serious consultations will start within the majority in order to find a solution to the STL financing issue and pay Lebanon's share of its 2011 budget soon, the source asserted that "the only solution will be through the Council of Ministers."
Source: Lebanese newspapers, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
