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Zeinab Essa
In Lebanon, political files intermingle with security ones. But it seems that the Lebanese table of national dialogue remained on top of discussions parallel to the issue of Lebanese hostages in Syria.
Sayyed Nasrallah's Clear Messages
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of Hizbullah His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah reset the Lebanese priorities during a ceremony held at Beirut's UNESCO Palace commemorating the 23rd demise anniversary of the late Imam Ruhollah Khomeini: We, to whom the late Imam is the great model, seek to build a strong state. And to reach this ultimate aim, a constituent assembly is needed.
"We call for the creation of an elected or appointed constituent assembly aimed at building a strong state in Lebanon to end sectarian divisions," His Eminence stated.
To the enemy, His Eminence reiterated a clear message: "Our battle with "Israel" didn't end yet."
And to the kidnappers of the 11 hostages in Syria, Sayyed Nasrallah confirmed "If you have a problem with me, Hizbullah or the Amal Movement, let's leave the innocent hostages aside and solve the issue."
"There are many ways we can solve it and on many levels. If you want war we can solve it with war, if you want peace then we can solve it in peace," he stressed.
Families to Nasrallah: Never Apologize
This came as the families of the hostages sent a message to Sayyed Nasrallah, appealing him never to apologize to the abductees.
In an interview with "al-Akhbar" Lebanese daily, Daniel Shaib, the brother of the kidnapped Abbas Shaib, emphasized: "by asking for an apology from the Secretary General of Hizbullah, the kidnappers sought to create discord between Sayyed Nasrallah and his supporters."
"They [the kidnappers] must be dreaming ... What unites us is deeper than their understanding. In the July war, 6 years ago, our homes were destroyed on our heads as we offered a martyr after another and we kept saying "in sake of the resistance and Sayyed"," Shaib highlighted.
He, with other families, affirmed "Let them do whatever they want, let them keep the abductees, but Sayyed would not apologize."
" We do not accept him to apologize, no matter what the price is," they added.
Meanwhile, diplomatic channels informed "al-Akhbar" that they have obtained information that indicated the existence of positive developments during the past few hours."
As the sources preferred to remain silent on the subject, they assured that "things are moving towards new developments which results will appear before the end of this week."
Suleiman Met Abdullah
On another level, President Michel Suleiman sought Saudi help in securing the release of the hostages taken by Syrian rebels during a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz Friday.
Suleiman, accompanied by Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi, paid the kingdom a few hours' visit to discuss also the national dialogue table that the President has called for on the 11th of June.
"The sixty-minute summit between President Suleiman and King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz reflected Saudi King's keenness on preserving stability and civil peace in Lebanon, parallel to his support for Lebanon's policy in distancing away from the Syrian crisis," "as-Safir" daily commented.
It further mentioned that "the Saudi King blessed the invitation for national dialogue and reiterated his readiness to support Lebanon, the brother country, in all areas."
In the same context, the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal hosted a dinner table in honor of President Suleiman and in the presence of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
According to "as-Safir", the former PM told President Suleiman that Hariri concluded after his discussions with Suleiman that "We do not want dialogue for the sake of dialogue; rather, we want a dialogue to reach results."
Hariri Rejects Dialogue
In another reflection for rejecting dialogue Hariri set his party's pre-conditions to dialogue "The dialogue has to take place along certain principles, including: First, the formation of a neutral cabinet; second, settling the issue of weapons; and third, committing to dialogue decisions and implementing them."
Similarly, "al-Akhbar" reported that "Hariri adopted the position of his allies and particularly Head of Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea, who announced his refusal to participate in the dialogue."
For his part, President Suleiman stressed to "as-Safir" that "I took the initiative to contact Hariri before heading to Saudi Arabia and we agreed to meet during the lunch."
"Neither did I pressure him to respond to my invitation for national dialogue nor did I ask him to attend the dialogue session," Suleiman asserted.
He also informed that "discussions were centered on the advantages and the disadvantages of the dialogue."
Secret Meetings to Discuss Gov't
On the governmental level, "an-Nahar" daily reported that "a secret meeting was held Friday before noon at the Grand Serail between PM Najib Mikati, Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's political aide Hajj Hussein Khalil, and Energy Minister Gebran Bassil."
The daily further learned that " the meeting aimed at averting the governmental crisis."
"The meeting was preceded by a similar one between Hizbullah, Amal movement and Change and Reform Bloc ministers," it mentioned.
Sources close to the PM told "an-Nahar" that "efforts are being exerted not to just solve the financial dispute but to give the government a new impetus and activate its work."
"Contacts between various governmental sides are expected to intensify before the next session that is set to be held at Baabda palace next Wednesday," they predicted.
On the security level, at least five people were injured in renewed clashes overnight between the Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhoods of the northern city of Tripoli.
Source: Lebanese papers, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
In Lebanon, political files intermingle with security ones. But it seems that the Lebanese table of national dialogue remained on top of discussions parallel to the issue of Lebanese hostages in Syria.
Sayyed Nasrallah's Clear Messages
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of Hizbullah His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah reset the Lebanese priorities during a ceremony held at Beirut's UNESCO Palace commemorating the 23rd demise anniversary of the late Imam Ruhollah Khomeini: We, to whom the late Imam is the great model, seek to build a strong state. And to reach this ultimate aim, a constituent assembly is needed.
"We call for the creation of an elected or appointed constituent assembly aimed at building a strong state in Lebanon to end sectarian divisions," His Eminence stated.
To the enemy, His Eminence reiterated a clear message: "Our battle with "Israel" didn't end yet."
And to the kidnappers of the 11 hostages in Syria, Sayyed Nasrallah confirmed "If you have a problem with me, Hizbullah or the Amal Movement, let's leave the innocent hostages aside and solve the issue."
"There are many ways we can solve it and on many levels. If you want war we can solve it with war, if you want peace then we can solve it in peace," he stressed.
Families to Nasrallah: Never Apologize
This came as the families of the hostages sent a message to Sayyed Nasrallah, appealing him never to apologize to the abductees.
In an interview with "al-Akhbar" Lebanese daily, Daniel Shaib, the brother of the kidnapped Abbas Shaib, emphasized: "by asking for an apology from the Secretary General of Hizbullah, the kidnappers sought to create discord between Sayyed Nasrallah and his supporters."
"They [the kidnappers] must be dreaming ... What unites us is deeper than their understanding. In the July war, 6 years ago, our homes were destroyed on our heads as we offered a martyr after another and we kept saying "in sake of the resistance and Sayyed"," Shaib highlighted.
He, with other families, affirmed "Let them do whatever they want, let them keep the abductees, but Sayyed would not apologize."
" We do not accept him to apologize, no matter what the price is," they added.
Meanwhile, diplomatic channels informed "al-Akhbar" that they have obtained information that indicated the existence of positive developments during the past few hours."
As the sources preferred to remain silent on the subject, they assured that "things are moving towards new developments which results will appear before the end of this week."
Suleiman Met Abdullah
On another level, President Michel Suleiman sought Saudi help in securing the release of the hostages taken by Syrian rebels during a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz Friday.
Suleiman, accompanied by Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi, paid the kingdom a few hours' visit to discuss also the national dialogue table that the President has called for on the 11th of June.
"The sixty-minute summit between President Suleiman and King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz reflected Saudi King's keenness on preserving stability and civil peace in Lebanon, parallel to his support for Lebanon's policy in distancing away from the Syrian crisis," "as-Safir" daily commented.
It further mentioned that "the Saudi King blessed the invitation for national dialogue and reiterated his readiness to support Lebanon, the brother country, in all areas."
In the same context, the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal hosted a dinner table in honor of President Suleiman and in the presence of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
According to "as-Safir", the former PM told President Suleiman that Hariri concluded after his discussions with Suleiman that "We do not want dialogue for the sake of dialogue; rather, we want a dialogue to reach results."
Hariri Rejects Dialogue
In another reflection for rejecting dialogue Hariri set his party's pre-conditions to dialogue "The dialogue has to take place along certain principles, including: First, the formation of a neutral cabinet; second, settling the issue of weapons; and third, committing to dialogue decisions and implementing them."
Similarly, "al-Akhbar" reported that "Hariri adopted the position of his allies and particularly Head of Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea, who announced his refusal to participate in the dialogue."
For his part, President Suleiman stressed to "as-Safir" that "I took the initiative to contact Hariri before heading to Saudi Arabia and we agreed to meet during the lunch."
"Neither did I pressure him to respond to my invitation for national dialogue nor did I ask him to attend the dialogue session," Suleiman asserted.
He also informed that "discussions were centered on the advantages and the disadvantages of the dialogue."
Secret Meetings to Discuss Gov't
On the governmental level, "an-Nahar" daily reported that "a secret meeting was held Friday before noon at the Grand Serail between PM Najib Mikati, Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's political aide Hajj Hussein Khalil, and Energy Minister Gebran Bassil."
The daily further learned that " the meeting aimed at averting the governmental crisis."
"The meeting was preceded by a similar one between Hizbullah, Amal movement and Change and Reform Bloc ministers," it mentioned.
Sources close to the PM told "an-Nahar" that "efforts are being exerted not to just solve the financial dispute but to give the government a new impetus and activate its work."
"Contacts between various governmental sides are expected to intensify before the next session that is set to be held at Baabda palace next Wednesday," they predicted.
On the security level, at least five people were injured in renewed clashes overnight between the Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhoods of the northern city of Tripoli.
Source: Lebanese papers, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
