Complicated Saudi Letter to Lebanon, Suleiman to Resume Dialogue
Few hours after the calm prevailed in North, the winds of tension blew from behind the Lebanese borders.
After its presence in Tripoli and Beirut clashes, the so-called "Free Syrian army" (FSA) decided to agitate the Lebanese arena. However, this time from Syria.
Rebels Kidnap Lebanese
The rebels kidnapped Tuesday 11 Lebanese men in Aleppo city while they were
on their way back from a visiting trip to the Holy shrines in Iran.
According to the information, buses belonging to the Badr al-Kobra and Jannat al-Redwan religious caravans were ambushed in Aleppo, shortly after crossing the Syrian-Turkish border.
The women were allowed to go free and returned to Beirut by plane early Wednesday.
In parallel, women within the caravan informed Lebanese dailies that "after crossing the Turkish-Syrian border, we were ambushed by gunmen from the Syrian rebels. They forced the men to dismount the buses and took them to an unknown destination and left us there."
Al-Akhbar Lebanese daily quoted one of the women as saying: "the gunmen suddenly appeared before us, with full arms."
"They directed their weapons to the bus driver, and informed us that they are from the FSA. Moreover they declared that they want to kidnap our men in order to exchange them with members of FSA, being held with the Syrian authorities," the woman clarified.
She further said that "the rebels directed us to the police station in Aleppo, and asked us to inform the security officers what had happened."
"We weren't exposed to any physical violence by the kidnappers, but we do not know what happened to our people after we left," the horrified woman told "al-Akhbar"
"The kidnappers insulted Hizbullah and its figure," she said.
Mansour: Lebanese Abductees to Be Freed within Hours
For his part, Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour assured the families of the abductees and all the Lebanese that "they would be freed within hours."
In a radio interview, Mansour unveiled that "a senior Arab official informed him last night that the result of contacts revealed the whereabouts of the kidnapped men."
"We conducted a series of contacts with Arab foreign ministers and the Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi to discuss the issue," he added.
Sayyed Nasrallah: We'll Deal with Issue, Syrians Our Brothers
This came hours after the Secretary General of Hizbullah His Eminence Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah assured the families of the kidnapped men that he, along with the House Speaker Nabih Berri "will responsibly deal with the case."
"We have already begun working on the case, these are our children who got abducted," His Eminence stressed.
Addressing the angry people, Sayyed Nasrallah confirmed that "we all need to cooperate together to achieve positive results," and noted that "people have the right to protest in a square, a compound, or a mosque but roads should not be blocked."
Sayyed Nasrallah said "Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker Berri had already made contacts and we have also begun contacts on the side."
His Eminence called on the people of the Southern Suburb and the entire region to refrain from blocking roads. "We hold complete responsibility, we understand the tension and feelings of the abductees' families, but any threats of kidnapping Syrians in Lebanon as a reaction is rejected."
"The Syrians in Lebanon are our brothers," Sayyed Nasrallah reiterated.
Immediately, after the Secretary General of Hizbullah finished his speech, people showed clear commitment to his guidance. They directly cleared the roads and went back to their homes, leaving the issue in his custody.
State Mobilized
In parallel, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman conducted Arab and Turkish officials to resolve the case.
He also spoke with Berri to discuss efforts to release the men, while the Head of the Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammad Raad telephoned Suleiman on behalf of Sayyed Nasrallah, thanking him for his concern.
Raad, who was at the airport to welcome the women, said there were signs the matter would be settled quickly.
"We don't want to go into details of who is behind the abduction to make the kidnapped men's release easier," he said and pointed that "we'll deal with that later."
Moreover, "as-Safir" daily revealed that PM Mikati contacted Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was in Chicago to participate in a conference, informed him that Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan will contact him."
"We were informed of the kidnap, and we are doing our best to release them as soon as possible," Davutoglu told Mikati.
On the other hand, a well informed source told "al-Joumhoria" daily that Iranian -Turkish negotiations are in process to find an outcome in the case of the kidnapped Lebanese in Syria."
"This is related to the good relationship between Turkey and FSA," the source mentioned.
Saudi Cable Urges Dialogue
On another level, the Lebanese political circles were busy inspecting the backgrounds of the Saudi complicated message to Lebanon.
The Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abd Aziz sent a message to President Suleiman, stating that "his country monitors the Lebanese situation with deep concern following the clashes in Tripoli."
"These clashes targeted a main sect in the country," he claimed.
As-Safir daily commented on the Saudi King's remarkable and almost unprecedented position towards Lebanon.
"The Saudi language reflects that one of the Lebanese sects owns the protection of the kingdom," the paper added.
President Michel Suleiman is holding onto his call for the National Dialogue to discuss the spread of arms inside and outside Lebanese cities, sources close to the head of state said.
In his cable to the head of the Lebanese state Abdullah said: "We look forward to you ending the crisis, which may spiral into sectarian strife."
"You know that these efforts [Gulf efforts], no matter how great they are, will remain insufficient if all the Lebanese factions fail in placing the people's interests above all else, but instead favour foreign ones that do not seek Lebanon's wellbeing," he stressed.
As-Safir reported that Saudi Ambassador to Beirut Ali Awadh Asiri informed Suleiman Tuesday that his country encourages the resumption of national dialogue.
"The president discussed with Asiri a possible visit to Riyadh," the daily stated.
The daily further mentioned that "Suleiman will soon call for national dialogue."
"Suleiman's call for all-party talks focuses on discussing the arms of the resistance in terms of the defence strategy and the urgent issue of the weapons used in the latest deadly armed clashes in Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli," as-Safir said.
According to the presidential sources, Suleiman is mulling how to create the good circumstances to invite top Lebanese officials to the dialogue table.
"The President could either make a televised appeal for national dialogue or resume bilateral talks with the officials, pending an invitation for the renewal of national dialogue," the sources said.
Berri Welcomes Dialogue
For his part, Speaker Berri hailed the Saudi call for dialogue.
In an interview with an-Nahar, Berri viewed that the Saudi letter forms a direct and explicit call for resumption of dialogue between Lebanese parties in light of the critical situation the country is passing through.
"Upon the occurrence of crises and calamities that threaten the country, leaders and all those responsible figures must meet," the Speaker said.
He further stressed that "the issue is not related to breaking the ice but channels shouldn't be cut between us."
Source:Lebanese newspapers,Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
