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Hariri: I Will Bear Responsibility of My Solidarity with Syrian People

Former Prime Minsiter Saad Hairi stressed on Tuesday that the Syrian revolution will triumph.

He declared: “I will bear the responsibility of my solidarity with the Syrian people.”

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Syrian National Council: We Back Lebanese in an Independent Lebanon, Not as Part of Syria

The Syrian National Council pledged on Tuesday that it will establish proper ties with Lebanon once the Syrian regime is overthrown.

It said in an address to the Lebanese people that it will back the Lebanese “in an independent Lebanon, not as people who are part of Syria.”

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Geagea to Hizbullah: No Future for Illegal Arms, Velayat-e faqih, Regional Axes

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Tuesday called on Hizbullah not to be “mistaken in its calculations,” stressing that “there is no future for any illegal arms and no future for any mini-state.”

Speaking at a rally held by the March 14 forces at the BIEL hall in Beirut to mark ex-PM Rafik Hariri’s seventh murder anniversary, Geagea said: “The moment of freedom, democracy and real statehood has come in the region, so do not be mistaken in your calculations.”

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Gemayel: Lebanon Cannot Support Arab Revolts while it is Victim of Illegitimate Arms

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel stated on Tuesday that the spirit of slain former Premier Rafik Hariri has returned with the wave of Arab revolts and with the release of the indictment in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

He asked: “Is it logical for us to back Arabs revolting against their regimes and accept that the Lebanese remain captive to the illegitimate arms?”

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Jumblat: Syrian Intelligence behind Zawahiri’s Support for Syrian Revolt

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat questioned on Tuesday al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s call for supporting the Syrian revolt, saying that he is seeking to tarnish the opposition’s peaceful movement.

He said in a statement: “The timing of the call indicates that the development was orchestrated by the Syrian intelligence.”

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Mansour Meets Aoun: Arab Decision on Syria Not in Lebanon’s Interest

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour discussed with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun the latest Arab League decision to ask the United Nations for a joint Arab-U.N. peacekeeping force in Syria.

Following his talks with Aoun in Rabieh, Mansour said: “The meeting was an occasion to discuss what happened in Cairo when the Arab League called for an extraordinary meeting to discuss the Syrian” crisis.

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Arslan Accuses Suleiman, Miqati of Halting Cabinet’s Work

Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan accused President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Tuesday of obstructing the work of the cabinet by keeping sessions suspended.

“Under no circumstances is it acceptable to suspend cabinet sessions, particularly at this critical stage in the region,” Arslan, who is allied with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, said in a statement.

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STL Protocol Expected to be Renewed without Lebanon’s Remarks

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon cooperation protocol is expected to pass automatically without any local fuss on the issue amid the cabinet’s impasse, according to newspapers published on Monday.

The Lebanese authorities will not submit any comments on U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon’s decision to extend the mandate of the court probing the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, sources told As Safir newspaper.

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Al-Rahi Met with Abu Arz in Cyprus

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi met with the founder of the Guardians of the Cedars party, Etienne Saqr, during his visit to Cyprus, An Nahar daily reported on Tuesday.

Saqr, 74, who goes by the nom de guerre of Abu Arz, has been living in the island state since 2000 when he escaped his hometown of Ain Ibel on the border with Israel similar to thousands of Lebanese who fled following the liberation of south Lebanon that year.

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Miqati Insists on Nahhas to Abide by Cabinet Decisions to Resolve Crisis

Prime Minister Najib Miqati said on Tuesday that there’s no specific timeframe for ending the cabinet deadlock, stressing that Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas can resolve the crisis by signing the transportation allowance decree, according to al-Mustaqbal newspaper.

“The prospects for resolving the current cabinet crisis is blurry, and there is no specific timeframe to resolve it,” Miqati told the daily.

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