DAILY SCOPE: Lebanese Consensus on Rejecting Refugees’ Naturalization, Follow-Up on Internet Scandal

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LEBANESE DAILIES:

AS-SAFIR:

Nasrallah Cried, "Zulfikar" Called Reassuring...and Then Got Martyred

Syrian Army Advances in Ghouta

45% of Fixed Lines' International Calls Hacked!

AL-AKHBAR:

Rifi "Unwanted"

AN-NAHAR:

UN Rushes to Contain Campaign: No One Has Called For Naturalization of Refugees in Lebanon

AD-DIYAR:

Berri Wages on a Revolution in New Parliament

AL-JOMHOURIA:

Consensus on Rejecting Naturalization of Refugees

Lebanese newspapers on Friday focused on the decisive rejection of the Ministerial Council to the naturalization of Syrian refugees, and discussed the different files such as the illegal internet issue that is still unraveling with new branches of the story surfacing.

Also, newspapers touched on Hizbullah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech to be delivered today.

AL-BINAA: Nasrallah to Touch on Hizbullah View of Syrian War Future, US Act Crisis Being Resolved

Al-Binaa newspaper on Friday said that all eyes are set on Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah today, the Secretary General of Hizbullah, who will be delivering a speech on the memorial ceremony of martyr Mustafa Badr al-Din. The newspaper pointed out that the Lebanese people as well as many of the people concerned on the regional and international levels are waiting to hear what Sayyed Nasrallah has to say on a few topics, mainly the assassination of Badr al-Din and the view of Hizbullah to the war in Syria and its horizons especially after Sayyed Nasrallah, and in the previous speech, had described the Takfiri and extremist groups as attrition tools in the hands of the US against the resistance.

On another note, sources assured to al-Binaa newspaper that the crisis between Lebanese banks and Hizbullah seems to be heading towards resolving, because confrontation is not in the interest of any side. The source added that "Hizbullah is part of the Lebanese society; it has employees and bank accounts and is keen on economic and financial stability in the country."

The sources further pointed out that "The crisis exploded when one of the banks froze the accounts of two Hizbullah MPs and the account of an MP's daughter without referring to the Central Bank, and despite the fact that these accounts are of no importance at all."

Moreover, the sources said that "Head of the Central Bank Riyadh Salameh will explain to foreign officials during his tour abroad the threat of financial enclosing of a certain group of the Lebanese society, and the misuse of the US act which can threaten the banking sector in the country."

The US regulation, which was signed into law in December, targets any individual or institution related to Hizbullah. Earlier last month, Salameh called on Lebanese banks to freeze the accounts of all the individuals listed by the US Treasury for alleged connections with Hizbullah.

The decision drew the fury of Hizbullah MPs, and the Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc denounced the Lebanese banks' commitment to the US Act, assuring that such move is violation to Lebanon's sovereignty.

AN-NAHAR: Kaag to Meet Officials on Naturalizing Syrian Refugees, Lebanon in Fury

In the wake of fears of naturalizing Syrian refugees in Lebanon which was triggered by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag is scheduled to make a statement and touch on the issue, An-Nahar newspaper said on Friday.

According to the paper, Kaag will deliver a statement following a meeting with Foreign Minister Jebran Basil as well as with PM Tamam Salam. The daily added that "Ban had stated in a report he submitted to the Vienna conference on Syria that refugees have the right to obtain the nationalities of the countries they live in."

On Thursday, the council of ministers announced that it unanimously rejects any attempt to naturalize Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

"The cabinet reaffirmed the Lebanese consensus on rejecting naturalization and any policies that encourage the refugees to stay where they are, seeing as the only solution to the refugee crisis is the Syrians' speedy return to their country, which contradicts with the principles of voluntary return, integration and naturalization," said the cabinet in a statement issued after its weekly session at the Grand Serail.

AS-SAFIR: Efforts Ongoing to Reach Final Results on Internet Scandal

Following up on the 3-month old internet scandal that keeps unraveling more stories, As-Safir newspaper on Friday said that "head of the Parliamentary media committee MP Hassan Fadlallah stressed that he committee will continue its efforts in terms of reaching final results that protect Lebanon's national security and the state's finances."

Talking to As-Safir newspaper, Fadlallah said that "the committee will continue close follow-up on the internet file and its different branches," adding that "The file cannot be closed until we reach final results that maintain the national security and finances of Lebanon."

He went on to say that "The committee will be meeting on May 31, where we will be waiting for the judicial data in light of the official investigations related to the file."

The Lebanese government has been busy investigating illegal internet companies for the past three months almost. The scandal includes illegal large communication devices and towers installed in several areas across Lebanon and a 40GB per second bandwidth bought from Turkey and Cyprus and equivalent to 1/3 of the bandwidth set by the Telecom ministry.

Source: al-Ahed News