Suleiman: Elections Must Take Place, Geagea Didn’t Pick A Flower
For its part, "al-Akhbar" daily uncovered that "a political Lebanese figure from Tripoli traveled to Egypt last month, where he held several meetings with the leaders of fighting groups in Libya, in the presence of some members of the "Syrian National Council"."
The security concern is back to the Lebanese forefront.
As the political circles were busy intensifying their economic and political discussions as well as their electoral preparations ,both the Chouf bombing and the Northern Ship breached the scene to unfold compelling facts:
The bombing of the Arab Tawhid Party office aimed to lure strife amid questions raised on those benefiting from such a move.
On the Northern front, smuggling of weapons to Syria's armed groups continues across the Lebanese border. However, it exceeded Friday all the limits.
To hail the Lebanese Army efforts in detecting the ship of arms is normal. But it is also normal to raise questions on the Lebanese political cover of such a ship especially in light of the terrorist bombings that continue to rock Damascus every now and then.
LA Detects Weapons Ship Heading to Syria
"As-Safir" Lebanese newspaper revealed Saturday that the Lebanese navy intercepted a ship on Friday carrying weapons for Syria's rebels .
According to the daily, the vessel named "Lutf-Allah 2", had first sailed from Libya ahead of arriving at the Egyptian port of Alexandria to head later to the Lebanese port of Silata.
"The ship carried three containers loaded with light and medium weapons and ammunitions," the paper clarified, unveiling that "its owner is the Syrian Mohammed KH, its leader is his brother, while its agent on the Lebanese port is Ahmad B. and its Savior of Customs is Mattawa T.," the daily reported.
It also mentioned that "the ship carried Kalashnikov and M16 machineguns, Rocket-Propelled Grenades "RPG", and LAW launcher."
It was also reported that "various caliber artillery shells, 23 mm anti-aircraft and ammunitions were found in the load in addition to different TNT materials."
"As-Safir" commented on the incident stating that: "questions were raised about the easy passage of that vessel before the United Nations Interim Forces eyes noting that the first mandate of these forces is to control the smuggling of weapons into Lebanon."
"Did the vessel pass by the "Israeli" eyes?" "as-Safir" quoted security sources as wondering.
It recalled how "Israel" detained the "Beethoven" ship this past Sunday, which was en route from Beirut to Alexandria, claiming that might be carrying weapons for the Gaza Strip.
"The conferees agreed during the meeting to provide the so-called "Free Syrian Army" with anti-tank weapons at half of the market's original price," the daily's sources added. "Al-Akhbar" quoted the Lebanese figure as assuring that "things are to be coordinated with the UNIFIL so that it will ignore the arms cargo that will arrive to the port of Tripoli."
Commenting on the incident, a Lebanese official stated to the daily that "the amount and the quality of the seized weapons indicate a serious escalation in the Syrian crisis, in terms of the fact that the supply of rebels in Syria crossed all the trade line."
"This means that there is a big decision at the regional level, and perhaps an international one, to lift the level of arming to militant groups against the Syrian regime, with what that means from the intention of straining the situation behind the Lebanese border," the Lebanese official warned.
Wahhab A Target for Al-Qaeda
On the Chouf blast, Head of the "Arab Tawhid Party" former Minister Wiam Wahhab warned of an "attempt to drag sedition to the mountain area."
In an interview with"as-Safir", Wahhab unveiled that "the Lebanese army commander General Jean Qahwaji told him that he was on al-Qaeda's list of targets for assassination."
"I know I am targeted. But I really do not know who is behind the attack near the party's office in Bikata, although I have been receiving many threats from some obscurants through the internet," Wahhab said.
Wahhab also denied any link to the "Progressive Socialist Party" headed by MP Walid Jumblatt with the explosion despite the tension between the two sides.
"Jumblatt was just affected like me from the blast, which lies six kilometers from my house and one kilometer from his home," the former minister stressed.
He also confirmed that "I do not think that he [Walid Jumblatt] would permit such actions."
On another level, the same daily tackled the alleged assassination attempt against the Head of the Lebanese forces Samir Geagea.
"The security information does not mean actually believing Geagea's version about what happened, as what he said in public greatly contradicts with the statements given to investigators," a security source well-informed of the investigation told "al-Akhbar".
The source gave the following example: " The shots were fired when Geagea was taking the stairs. When he heard the sound of the shot that missed him, he dropped to the ground."
" There was nothing about him picking up a flower," the source asserted.
On the political level, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman urged all sides to be part of the dialogue to find a solution for the Syrian crisis."
Suleiman: Elections A Must
On the Lebanese elections, Suleiman stressed in remarks to "al-Joumhoria" that "the 2013 parliamentary elections should be held regardless of what electoral law is to be adopted."
"Given the Arab world developments, it is unacceptable that Lebanon fail to hold the scheduled elections," he confirmed, noting that "elections is the first condition for democracy."
The President also announced that "he will not participate in the coming elections."
"I do not have anything to do with the candidacies...and I will not support any candidate - even if they were among my closest confidants," Suleiman vowed.
On the electoral law, the President reiterated his support for adopting proportionality.
"We are seeking to rectify the current law in accordance with the Lebanese system and Taef Accord," he mentioned, highlighting that "it is no longer suitable for the elections."
"It no longer reflects mutual coexistence among the Lebanese given the geographic and demographic changes in the country," he stated.
However, he pointed out that " if a new electoral law cannot be agreed to, the current electoral law must be adopted."
Feltman to Beirut
In another context, "An-Nahar" newspaper reported that "Assistant U. Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffery Feltman is expected to arrive in Lebanon next week where he is scheduled to hold talks with a number of officials."
According to the daily, "the talks likely to focus on the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon and the 2013 parliamentary elections."
"Feltman will meet with several officials, including those from "March 14"," it added.
Meanwhile, the same paper informed that House Speaker Nabih Berri forwarded the draft laws that authorize overspending in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 to the Finance and Budgetary Parliament Committee.
"Berri's step is a normal part of the process given that the government transferred these proposals to Parliament," it viewed.
In parallel, ministerial sources told "an-Nahar" that "Berri's move will allow for further discussions on how to allocate funds for spending via a legal mechanism accepted by Parliament and the government."
Source: Lebanese newspapers, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
