General Electric’s Offer Scandal, Bassil Seeks Iran’s Electricity
As the Palestinian Land Day inflamed the Islamic and Arabic nation, it redirected the compass into the main cause: Palestine, the land of resistance and martyrs.
From the West bank, Gaza, al-Quds, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon a cry was launched vowing that Palestine is the nation's responsibility.
Sayyed Nasrallah: Bet's on Toppling Syrian Regime Futile
In Lebanon, the Secretary General of Hizbullah His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed that "this occasion is an expression of the nation's commitment to the Palestinian cause, to the land, and to the sanctities."
His Eminence reiterated that "the resistance, the blood of the martyrs, and the sufferings of prisoners inside the "Israeli" jails have kept the cause alive until today despite all attempts and hundreds of billions of dollars that were spent to fail this cause."
"The Arab Nation is capable of liberating Palestine and can do it very simply," he affirmedadding that "We do neither need to buy weapons nor to possess nuclear weapons; we can simply triumph over "Israel"."
Moreover, Hizbullah's Secretary General ruled out a "foreign military intervention in Syria," affirming that "the US is weaker than being able to engage in a military action against Damascus given that they were defeated in Iraq and are facing a dire situation in Afghanistan."
He further stressed that the political dialogue between the regime and the opposition based on reforms, is the only solution for the Syrian crisis.
Commenting on the Bahraini scene, Sayyed Nasrallah assured that "the negligence of Arabs will not affect Bahraini people's determination, which have chosen the right way to fight for their rights and will triumph God willing."
On the Lebanese front, His Eminence called on some parties which betted on the collapse of the Syrian regime to "reevaluate their calculations given that the general course of things in Syria has become clear."
He also stressed that "the government's survival is in the interest of the country's security and stability," calling on the government to be productive."
"A government is formed through politics. Do not believe those who say that street action has toppled governments despite their failure," Sayyed Nasrallah asserted welcoming "weapons if they bring electricity."
No General Electric Offer
Sayyed Nasrallah's comment on electricity came hours before it was unveiled that what was said on an electricity offer by Prime Minister Najib Mikati from the "General Electric" company proved to be a mirage.
According to "as-Safir" Lebanese daily, officials from the company visited both the PM and Minister of Energy and Water Gebran Bassil to apologize for the misunderstanding that took place.
The officials denied that "the company had made any offer," pointing out that the error was caused when an employee in the company proposed the offer illegally."
The officials stressed that they have relieved the employee of his duties
Media reports previously mentioned that Mikati was advocating a proposal by GE
to construct a power plant at the cost of $500 million.
The ministerial committee tasked with following up the leasing of the vessels is set to resume its meetings Monday to negotiate prices and conditions for contracts.
In this context, the member of the committee, Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi said in remarks to "an-Nahar" that "he proposed to Mikati and Bassil during their Thursday meeting to set the price of the leasing ahead of the negotiations."
"The PM and the energy minister are working to come up with studies on the issue," the paper clarified.
Bassil Seeks Iran's Electricity
In parallel, "al-Akhbar" newspaper reported Saturday that "Bassil had sent on 15/3/2012 a letter to the Council of Ministers requesting the approval on dragging power from Iran."
"Bassil's book was based on "Lebanon's Electricity" report stating that "there is a possibility of dragging around 25 MW from Iran after the strengthening of the tracks starting from the coming April," the paper clarified.
Sources informed of the issue said that "the amount of power conveyed from Iran to Lebanon may be increased to 200 megawatts before the end of the year."
According to the sources, the request for the Lebanese government's approval of conveying power from Iran was not added on the agenda of the Council of Ministers' session due to PM Najib Mikati's reservations.
Sources said that "Mikati does not want to get power from Iran for fear that it would irritate the West and the [Arab] Gulf."
On another level, ministerial sources predicted that the coming week will witness the resolution of several issues on the governmental level.
Suleiman Hails Gov't
Meanwhile, President Michel Suleiman hailed the government for going back on track after approving plans to resolve the electricity crisis and calling for an audit on the 2006-2010 extra-budgetary spending.
In an interview with "as-Safir" daily, Suleiman confirmed that "we could say that the productivity is on the right track," pointing out that he "will be in total readiness when the Lebanese parties feel that they need the national dialogue."
The President further "denounced certain sides for imposing their conditions on the all-party talks at Baabda Palace and betting on the collapse or the victory of the Syrian regime."
"This is incompatible with the reasons behind the call for the national dialogue," Suleiman added.
Asked about the situation in Syria, Suleiman reiterated that Lebanon should always play the conciliatory role between the Arab countries.
"I support the success of the role of international envoy Kofi Annan," he told the newspaper," stressing that "he would encourage the Syrian leadership with helping the former UN chief successfully implement his mission."
"I care about civil peace, security and stability in Syria," he said, hoping that the solution would be in favor of democracy."
"An-Nahar" has learned that the agenda of the government's next meeting is composed of 62 items.
Electoral Law into Discussion
On another level, Suleiman is scheduled to hold talks with the PM and Interior Minister Marwan Charbel on Saturday to discuss the electoral draft-law a year before the parliamentary polls.
Charbel told "an-Nahar" that "the conferees should know whether we will adopt the proportional representation, half proportionality, create a single district or allow each sect to choose its own representatives."
"This is a huge workshop that needs preparations that require at least a year to complete so that the elections could succeed," he said.
Charbel also said that security preparations require at least a year over the situation in Syria which would affect Lebanon. "But if the Syrian crisis is over ... then we could go back to the experience of 2009 whereby we would need six months of preparations."
The minister's remarks came as Suleiman told "as-Safir" that the government would resume discussions of the parliamentary draft-law within two weeks.
Asked about the decentralization draft-law, Suleiman said: "I am ready to put it for discussion ... There is nothing wrong with discussing in parallel the electoral and decentralization laws."
Source: Lebanese newspapers, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
