Berri Seeks Maritime Rights, Former Spending to be Revealed
A rare March snow storm is approaching Lebanon and the neighboring countries. While people anticipate what "good" will come from the falling rain, they also await- in "good faith" -as the government tackles the piled up and top-notch matters.
Meanwhile, "Israel" continues to inject its culture of treason among the Lebanese, especially in the telecoms sector. While the army intelligence tackles this issue, the Parliament and cabinet are busy resolving the spending dilemma which has been haunting the Lebanese community since former governments.
These titles made the Friday headlines of major Lebanese newspapers.
Lebanese Telecoms: Once a Target, Always an "Israeli" Target
According to as-Safir daily, a new chapter of the "Israeli" espionage series was revealed on Thursday, and once again, in the "very much" breached telecoms sector.
On this level, the Lebanese Army intelligence was able to reveal the identity of two Lebanese accused of collaborating with the "Israeli" enemy, who were arrested and referred to the judiciary for further investigations.
A security source affirmed to as-Safir daily that the said indictees were arrested in Saida almost a week ago, and it turned out that they worked in the Ministry of Telecoms and Ogero.
The source added that after suspicious behavior, both collaborators were subjected to intensive surveillance. In this context, the same source added that the Lebanese Army intelligence gathered data which proved that the two men in custody had been communicating with their "Israeli" employers for a long time.
Moreover, other sources indicated that the first collaborator, identified as "Walid K.", had access to the telecoms networks' maps and excavations, and was able to identify the places where the network cables were installed; in roads or buildings etc...
The second collaborator, according to the Lebanese daily, was identified to be "Shawki Z."; it was revealed that he worked at the networks' maintenance crews in the Beirut area, and had the ability to track phone lines and reveal the launching locations.
Also, the sources added that "Shawki Z." was recently, 2 weeks ago; 1 week before his arrest, transferred to the "Alisar networks" branch; which is responsible for the land lines of the Beirut Southern Suburb.
High-ranked security sources stated to as-Safir that the "Israeli" Mossad's "focal focus" on the Lebanese telecoms networks since decades, requires launching a political-security-administrative workshop in order to set boundaries that aim at halting the exposure of the telecoms sector, which is vital for all the Lebanese, without any exception, on the political, security, and economic levels.
Spending File: $11 Billion's Fate to Light Soon
On the level of Lebanese economy, the political dispute is still ongoing regarding the billions of dollars spent in the era of former governments, especially that of Fuad Siniora.
According to an-Nahar newspaper, hopes are up for Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri to reach a compromise with the help of some "mediator figures", on top of which are Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and head of National Struggle Front, MP Walid Jumblatt. This consensus merely aims at avoiding any critical political confrontations in the upcoming Monday session.
While former PM Siniora is demanded the revelation of the $11 billion's "fate" spent at the time of his rule, some MP of the March 14 camp proposed a draft law that aims at specifying extra credits for the general budgets, and those annexed with covering up the spending of the period between 2006 and 2011. Sources stated that Siniora will proceed and hold a press conference today, Friday, during which he will present a general time-table of the money spent.
Back to the anticipated Monday session, head of the Finance and Budget Parliamentary Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan stated that the said session is a "normative session" related to the people's rights.
Regarding the March 14's proposed draft law, MP Kanaan asserted that it is a "heresy" that contradicts with all democratic and parliamentary principles, stating that it is not constitutional.
Moreover, sources from the March 8 coalition stated to al-Akhbar daily that the majority will not allow leveling the L.L. 8900 billion file to that of the $11 billion, because the first is a draft law sent by the government. As for the second, it is based on accounts which haven't been officially issued from the Finance Ministry.
President Suleiman Vows to Follow Up Appointments
In light of his official visits to Romania and the Czech Republic, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman had the Lebanese affairs on top of his priorities.
Elaborating on the Lebanese situation, which now faces dramatic curves on the political and economic levels, President Suleiman believed that the repercussion were witnessed in managing the general affairs, especially regarding appointments.
In an interview with as-Safir daily, President Suleiman iterated, "The international financial crisis approached, and then came the dispute over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon [...], reaching the Arab Spring, but we were able to prevent Lebanon from being subjected to any of these causes' repercussions".
Regarding Lebanon's upcoming merits, President Suleiman confirmed to as-Safir daily that he will be following the appointment mechanism. Moreover, Suleiman denied what has been said about him willing to extend his Presidential term, confirming that the constitutional merits will occur on time, as will the parliamentary election; whether a new electoral law was set or not.
On the Syrian level, President Suleiman affirmed that there is constant communication between him and the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is "interacting with every constructive, calm, and honest proposal". Also, the Lebanese President stressed on the importance of regaining Syria at the Arab League, because "we are against boycotting any Arab country or isolating it".
Berri Seeks Lebanese Maritime Rights
On his part, Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri concluded his short official visit to Cyprus, which mainly revolved around tackling the oil file, the empty economic maritime zone between both countries, and the negative repercussions resulted by the Cypriot-"Israel" agreement on the Lebanese maritime rights.
The aforementioned agreement threatens the "loss" of more than 850 km squared of the offshore area.
Speaker Berri stated that his visit was "successful", however he confirmed that the issues remained not finalized, referring that he received great attention and cooperation from the Cypriot officials in response to his proposals.
On this level, as-Safir daily indicated that the Cypriot Foreign Minister will visit Beirut within a period of two weeks, along with a special delegation to follow up the oil and border files. The Cypriot visit was scheduled in order to discuss with Lebanese officials the maritime borders, especially regarding the economic borders, in a way that would serve the interests of both countries.
Source: Lebanese Newspaper, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
