Lebanon's Arabic press digest - Oct. 5, 2011 October 05, 2011 09:35 AM

The Daily Star

Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Wednesday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
 
An-Nahar
Syrian incursion in Arsal amid authorities’ silence
U.S.-Lebanese disagreement on the protection of Syrian opposition
 
The Syrian incursion Tuesday from across the border with Lebanon into the Bekaa town of Arsal coincided with a U.S. move toward the protection of the Syrian opposition in Lebanon.
 
This new development came as Lebanon was mired in issues such as funding for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and ESCWA’s security as well as workers’ and teachers’ demands.
 
This complete silence over the Syrian Army incursion prompted prominent figures in the March 14 coalition to raise questions regarding the authorities’ approach in dealing with Syria's security behavior toward Lebanon’s sovereignty.
 
Meanwhile, political sources told An-Nahar that U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly’s visit to Lebanese Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn was a sort of a “message, not a strong warning similar to the [U.S.] dealing with the issue of Syrian banks and accounts in Lebanon.”
 
The essence of this message is to tell the Lebanese Army that it has to protect the Syrian opposition in Lebanon.
 
The sources said Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi is likely to hear a similar position during his visit to the United States in the coming days.
 
They said Ghosn and Connelly exchanged points of view. “However, they differed in their views,” one source told An-Nahar.
 
As-Safir
Difficult talks between Mikati and workers … “water plan” extends until 2035
2012 budget allocates funding for STL … No funds for salary increase
 
Lebanese officials have put vital living and development issues under the spotlight and will take up these issues to Cabinet during a meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
 
The government will discuss a raise in the minimum wage amid the Labor Union’s insistence that it will go ahead with a strike planned for Oct. 12 if this demand is not met. 
 
So far meetings between Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the head of the Labor Unions have been fruitless amid discouraging signs for the workers’ demand, as the 2012 state budget draft law will not generate funds for salary increase, but will allocate funds for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
 
Cabinet is leaning toward appointing former Cabinet Minister Adnan Sayyed Hussein as president of the Lebanese University during its Wednesday meeting, and the government is also expected to discuss the water plan put forward by Energy Minister Jibran Bassil about a year ago.
 
The plan, titled "Water is the right of every citizen and the wealth of the entire country," aims to meet Lebanon's water needs on three stages: on the short-term until 2015; the medium-term until 2020; and the long-term until 2035.
 
The plan includes all the aspects related to irrigation water use, ground and surface water as well as wastewater treatment for reuse.
 
Al-Mustaqbal
Aoun steps up campaign against STL funding … Syrian tanks infiltrate into Arsal
 
As Cabinet meets Wednesday amid continued efforts to escape the inevitable with regards to the funding of the STL, [Michel Aoun’s] Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah seem to be readying for a confrontation and action that will not allow the funding bill to pass in Cabinet.
 
Meanwhile, Syrian army tanks infiltrated from across the eastern border into the Lebanese town of Arsal, shooting at a deserted batteries factory before troops raided the place and destroyed its contents.
 
The Lebanese Army Command, through the Coordination Committee between two armies, called for an immediate withdrawal of the Syrian force from Lebanese territory.
 
And while Aoun launched a new attack on Mikati, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah discussed the “latest regional and local political developments” with Bassil.
 
Al-Liwaa
STL funding is an explosive issue
Jumblatt: No problem in meeting Hariri
 
An announcement made by Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi regarding the budget bill has increased concerns  about the fate of the Mikati government, given that Safadi has for the first time revealed that funding for the STL will be generated through a funding plan that allocates LL108 billion over a two-year period, and not through advance payments from the treasury that could be passed by a decree issued by the president.
 
Agreement now rests in Cabinet’s hands, amid signs that the Hezbollah-Amal-FPM alliance will not allow a bill to finance the tribunal to pass, a matter which would leave Mikati with no other choice but either to withdraw the funding issue from Cabinet debate or resign.
 
 
 
This would leave the door open to a political crisis that would put Lebanon in a confrontation with the international community as a rogue state that reneges on its obligations.
 
Meanwhile, sources close to the head of the National Struggle Front, MP Walid Jumblatt, acknowledged the presence of a real crisis over funding for the STL because Hezbollah and its Syrian ally reject the tribunal, and expressed fear this was an attempt to push Mikati to resign.
 
As for Jumblatt, he played down the importance of not meeting with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Paris.
 
“If we are going to meet, we will meet in public, not secretly,” Jumblatt told Al-Liwaa. “Why do you make such a big deal out of a non-meeting?”