LAF: No Syrians Kidnapped in Lebanon, Renting Boats for Electricity
Similarly, US Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser visited Beirut Thursday meeting PM Mikati and Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh as well as a number of representatives of the Lebanese banking sector.
11- 11-1982: It was a rainy cold day.
"Israeli" occupation soldiers and officers thronged in the headquarters of the military "Israeli" governor in Tyre.
They were gathering speeding toward their destiny, which none of them has expected.
As "Israeli" soldiers were trying to take cover from cold and rain, Ahmed Qasser enjoyed peacefully preparing to his limp towards al-Mighty kingdom.
The clock knocked: seven and ten minutes, Ahmed broke into the headquarters of the military "Israeli" ruler with his heavily exploded car.
Hundreds of "Israeli" soldiers were killed and since then the Islamic Resistance Pledge remained a flag of victory and martyrdom.
Hizbullah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is to deliver a speech Friday in "Martyr's Day" which he would tackle the developments in Lebanon and the region.
"As-Safir" newspaper reported that His Eminence will tackle the "Israel"-US threats to attack Iran over its nuclear program and the turmoil in Syria.
Boats for Electricity:
Meanwhile, Lebanese Council of Ministers' met Thursday without witnessing a serious political debate.
As the discussions of several items of the agenda went on in a calm atmosphere, the session mainly adopted the item pertaining to chartering boats to produce electricity.
The Council of Ministers decided to approve Energy Minister Gebran Bassil's proposal to form a committee headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati to negotiate with the companies who submitted bids in this respect.
In an interview with "al-Akhbar" newspaper, Bassil revealed that "chartering of boats will have a dual purpose which are compensating for the expected shortage due to the fact that some sections of electrical plants are scheduled for maintenance, and increasing the volume of generated electricity."
Bassil also expected that "boats will be operational early next summer."
Mikati: Rumors on Syrians Kidnaps Seek Political Gains
Addressing the ministerial meeting at the Grand Serail, Mikati said the government was doing its job to provide aid to Syrian citizens in Lebanon.
Stating that "March14"was using the Syrian issue to lash out at the government in an attempt to achieve political gains, Mikati noted that "Lebanon has done its humanitarian duties toward Syrian brethren from all aspects and within the resources available to the Higher Relief Committee and the Social Affairs Ministry."
"It is not permissible to use the security dimension in political disputes," he said.
In parallel, a military source confirmed to "an-Nahar" Friday that "Lebanese Armed forces stress that there are no Syrian nationals kidnapped in Lebanon and that the LAF Intelligence did not record any kidnapping of Syrian nationals and that the army did not hand over any arrested person to the Syrian authorities."
At another Lebanese scene, MP Walid Jumblatt said that "he respects Syria's security and not willing on the toppling of the regime in Damascus."
"If Hizbullah does not want the financing of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to pass, the vote will fail. However, this would be a political mistake," he claimed.
For his part, Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri also commented on the Syrian developments.
"Lebanon supports implementing reforms in Syria, the regime has to implement them and must be given the chance to do so to evade any negative repercussions," Berri stressed in remarks to "as-Safir".
Concerning the resumption of the Lebanese national dialogue between various Lebanese parties, Berri noted that "President Michel Suleiman insists on reviving the all-party talks."
"Suleiman will continue his contacts and consultations with the Lebanese parties to move forward with the matter," he added.
Western Presence in Beirut:
At another level, the French diplomat who is in charge of the Middle East and North Africa at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexis le Cour Grandmaison, concluded Thursday a three-day visit to Beirut.
"As-Safir" revealed that Grandmaison conveyed to the officials with whom he met France's insistence on having Lebanon abide by financing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, adding that "Lebanon's commitment will be evaluated according to the result of the financing rather than to the means."
For its part, "al-Joumhoria" daily quoted French diplomatic sources informing that "the envoy was comfortable in his meetings as he received "positive responses" in respect to the issues of Lebanon's international relations and financing the STL."
"As-Safir" reported that "Glaser was briefed on the measures adopted by the Lebanese banks to stop the entry of questionable money."
"Glaser voiced satisfaction," the paper clarified.
Source: Lebanese newspapers, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
