AL-Balad

Italy “is not leaving Lebanon” but it will withdraw its troops

“Mighty” Italy recedes: Saturday’s events have shown that this is the case after the attack on members of the Italian contingent belonging to the United National Interim Force in Lebanon. Italy’s defense minister, Ignazio Larusssa, said “his country would withdraw 618 soldiers out of an original 1718 that are stationed in Lebanon, but we do not wish to leave Lebanon.” And while different Lebanese parties rushed to condemn the attack on the Italian peacekeepers, a question mark is being brought up in Lebanon: “Have regional developments begun to negatively impact on Lebanon?” Is the first “indicator of the crisis” the targeting of the U.N. peacekeepers in the south?

An-Nahar: Telecommunications row ends at security level and commences at political

The two prominent headlines that remain at the country’s internal level are the attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in the south and the repercussions of the row at the Telecoms Ministry and their impact on the Interior Ministry.

President Michel Sleiman held talks Saturday with caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud, caretaker Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar and General Prosecutor Judge Said Mirza into the legal aspects and administrative matters concerning the implementation of Baroud’s decisions to withdraw the Internal Security Forces station at the Adlieh telecoms building.

An-Nahar has learned that the issue of the telecommunications is linked to a key question: Why did caretaker Telecoms Minister Charbel Nahhas appear unexpectedly at the telecoms building with companions and a television crew working for a private company knowing in advance that his destination was guarded by special security?

And on the matter that Nahhas had uncovered a telecommunications network for spying purposes, the issue has turned out to be false given that the Lebanese Army has now taken control over the facilities and no activities were revealed therein.

Sources say the problem over the incident at the telecoms ministry building has not ended with Baroud’s decision to “admonish himself of his ministerial duties.” They said the terminology used by Baroud has no legal basis and therefore Baroud needs to consider his position: either retake his ministerial responsibilities or leave the government and allow caretaker Defense Minister Elias Murr to take over the duties at the Interior Ministry.

The sources indicated that the security solution at the telecoms building came after a call from Murr to Sleiman.

The source said: “All that we are seeing now is a political problem that Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun intiated through Nahhas in order to embarrass President Sleiman and to demonstrate Baroud’s reluctance to confront Rifi, compared to Nahhas. This became clear in Aoun’s latest statement in which he targeted the president exclusively.”