An Nahar

Berri will not bargain on appointments, financing [the tribunal] will be postponed

Signs indicate that the coming week will hold several pressing social, security and administrative issues. A parliamentary session will be held Monday to try and find ways to reappoint individuals in parliamentary committees and the legislature’s bureau.

A Cabinet meeting will also take place Tuesday to discuss the ministries’ draft budgets for 2012, which will include the issue of funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali controversially asked the government to investigate Future Movement MP Nuhad Mashnouq or expel him from Lebanon.

Meanwhile, sources told An Nahar that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will focus on the decrees for oil exploration during the parliamentary session. This project will “change the face of Lebanon as soon as work begins.”

Al-Mustaqbal

Financing the tribunal is on the line Tuesday

While reactions surfaced regarding the Syrian ambassador’s remarks following his meeting with the foreign minister and his blatant interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs and incitement of the Lebanese against the country’s security system and the head of the Internal Security Forces, the government, which prefers to isolate itself from the ambassador’s remarks, prepares to face two outstanding items during the Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

The first is related to funding the STL, which is included in ministries’ draft budgets, and the second is the private sector’s rejection of the recent deal to raise the minimum wage as it called for a conference Thursday at BIEL to confirm its opposition.

Meanwhile MP Boutros Harb saw the Syrian ambassador’s remarks as blatant interference in Lebanese politics, and urged the government to send a warning to the ambassador, according to diplomatic procedures, and asked the Parliamentary Defense committee to summon Ashraf Rifi about his comments during a meeting for the Human Rights Committee. Boutros also said that the remarks remind us of the behavior of intelligence in Lebanon during the dark period of tutelage over the country.

Ad Diyar

Differences threaten Mikati's government during the week of funding

It seems that the upcoming week will place the government in the crisis that will result from debating the issue of financing the tribunal. Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who has remained silent on the issue, is still looking for the “calmest” ways to resolve the issue in a bid to prevent a crisis, which would embarrass his government.

If the government decides not to finance the tribunal, it will face the international community and consequently will be a possible target for sanctions by the U.N. Security Council. Mikati’s relationship with the international community is at risk especially since he has vowed at the U.N. that Lebanon will pay.

But if Mikati keeps his promise in Cabinet to fund the STL, the issue will be rejected in Parliament and will be blocked by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement. This will hurt the majority because funding the tribunal is seen as a sword directed at the neck of Hezbollah.

Mikati has not yet found a way out between those who reject the tribunal’s funding and others who are calling for it.

Al-Hayat

Aoun: we are comfortable with the reforms in Syria, Franjieh: the regime is staying and nothing can shake it

Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said “the recent unrest in Syria has shocked everyone .. but we have confidence that the Syrian people will come out of this crisis victorious and will be stronger… And we know that a country which takes the path of violence rather than dialogue will not succeed."

His remarks came during a reception Aoun held in Rabieh for young Syrians belonging to the Youth of National Unity which came to thank the political figures who had supported Syria and its reforms, and had rejected foreign interference. The youths said: "In Lebanon we have experienced this, and Syria is going through a similar phase which it will overcome quickly. We are today comfortable regarding the reforms and we are today looking forward to reform and hope reforms will be implemented soon."

They continued: "This way the Syrian people can begin a democratic base without painful and bloody events. We also think of those who encourage such events, they do not have good intentions because there is a big problem in the Middle East which is the violation of human rights which no one dares to speak of. The Palestinian people's human rights are violated and Palestinians have been living in camps for 60 years."

Meanwhile, the head of Marada Movement Sleiman Franjieh also received the same delegation and said that what Syria has gone through is a conspiracy wrought by foreign hands.