Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Friday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
Ad-Diyar: Estonians released as result of French intelligence work in the absence of Lebanon
Dispute resulted in calling for extraordinary Cabinet session Monday
During its first session Thursday after having won a vote of confidence in Parliament, Cabinet renewed Riad Salameh’s term as Lebanon’s Central Bank governor. It also appointed Brig. Gen. Walid Salman as Lebanese Army Chief of Staff and Antoine Choucair as the director general of the Lebanese presidency.
However, Thursday’s Cabinet agenda, as presented by Prime Minister Najib Mikati to President Michel Sleiman, did not include the appointment of Brig. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim as head of the General Security, thus leading to a dispute when Hezbollah and Amal ministers as well as other ministers insisted that security-related appointments be done in one comprehensive basket.
As a result of the dispute, an agreement was reached to hold an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Monday to approve the appointment of Ibrahim, who is currently assistant intelligence army chief, as head of the General Security.
This was preceded by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel’s decision to appoint Col. Naji al-Masri as head of Judicial Police. By doing so, Walid Jumblatt has resolved the issue of both appointments – Masri and Salman – in his favor, even though the Judicial Police leadership post should have gone to Brig. Gen. Bassan Abul Hisn.
Meanwhile, the release of the seven Estonians took place under suspicious circumstances in the absence of the Lebanese state as neither the Lebanese Army nor Internal Security Forces were present when the men were set free.
According to information, France had put its weight behind the release and Estonia paid a 10 million euro ransom for their release.
Al-Mustaqbal: Cabinet renews Salameh’s mandate, appoints Salman as chief of staff
Estonians’ release: Exposed mystery
After 113 days of their abduction, the seven Estonians were freed in what would be considered as an achievement primarily for the Lebanese Internal Security Forces amid President Michel Sleiman’s assertion that if not for the arrests made by the ISF and logistics help from the Lebanese Army in connection with the kidnapping the Estonians would not have been freed.
This security development comes in conjunction with a symbolic moment in the process of Hezbollah’s hijacking of Lebanese constitutional institutions represented by the first meeting of Hezbollah’s government.
Official sources told Al-Mustaqbal that the release of the seven Estonians was the result of painstaking negotiations conducted by Estonia and France with non-Lebanese sides, including Syrian authorities.
“After Lebanon had exhausted all efforts in search for the men several weeks after their abduction, and after extensive investigations conducted by the Lebanese judiciary and security services with those arrested in this case, it was found that the hostages are out of Lebanon [in Syria],” one source said.
“As a result, Estonian authorities, with French help, took charge of negotiations that lasted about three months, not with the kidnappers, but with those who stand behind them until they finally reached a happy ending and were safely returned,” he added.
Al-Mustaqbal has learned that Estonian officials declined to disclose any information to Lebanese authorities regarding the circumstances of the men’s release, the place of their detention and the party that sponsored the release.
As-Safir: Conflicting official counts wipe identity of kidnappers, ransom amount
Estonian scandal: A celebration for France ... [Lebanese] state "blind witness"
Suddenly and without prior warning or notice, the seven Estonians were released nearly four months after they were kidnapped from Zahle, an ending shrouded in mystery and question marks, particularly the role played by the French intelligence in the release operation in isolation from the Lebanese state and its security forces.
This, nevertheless, did not hide the fact that the Lebanese government headed by Najib Mikati was pleased with the news about the release of the Estonians as Cabinet took its first executive step by adopting the first batch of public appointments.
The first observation is that the Estonians’ freedom coincided with France’s National Day July 14. The second observation is that the release took place in isolation of the Lebanese security services, a fact that was confirmed by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel when he said that Lebanon “participated in the [release] process from afar so as not to hamper things.”
Thirdly, the release seemed to have taken place sneakily as details were unclear in terms of the motive behind the kidnapping, the identity of the kidnappers and the place of detention – whether the Estonians were held in Lebanon or out of the country.
According to official counts, Lebanese authorities were surprised by the news, since neither President Michel Sleiman nor Prime Minister Najib Mikati or the defense and interior ministers had prior knowledge of the release.
According to information, the French acted in the morning on the grounds that the Estonians’ freedom was "their operation" and a senior European official did not hesitate to say that their release was the work of “French intelligence par excellence."
But the French language changed in the afternoon which was evidently in the celebration of France’s National Day where the French ambassador praised the cooperation of Lebanese security forces and the coordination between Estonia and Lebanon – and France’s role.
An-Nahar: Freedom for Estonians and "gifts" in secret negotiations
Addresses of two video tapes led to cutting deal
Extraordinary Cabinet meeting to appoint head of General Security after deal prevented government setback
With the leads and the many details related to the issue of the abduction of the seven Estonians and their release Thursday morning now in the hands of the Lebanese judiciary in light of statements made by the freed Estonians and the testimonies of nine Lebanese suspects detained in this case, this was not enough to uncover the secrets of the mysterious deal that led to the happy ending. However, the "perpetrator" remains unknown.
This event, which almost overshadowed Cabinet’s first meeting and the obstacles it faced over the issue of public appointments which ended in a settlement that prevented a government setback, involved a set of facts and paradoxes most notably that Lebanese political and security authorities were largely absent from the secret negotiations which "flew over" the scene of the kidnapping and the release. And this has been acknowledged by more than one Lebanese side.
Judicial sources said the Estonians revealed in their statements the identity of the kidnappers and those behind them – their affiliations and beliefs. The names of the kidnappers were not revealed in order to preserve confidentiality.
The Estonians’ release was considered a major diplomatic gain for France, which played a key role in following up on efforts undertaken by Lebanon and Estonia and their hand over to a French convoy exclusively came as a great gift to France. It was also regarded as an “urgent gift” sent to Najib Mikati’s government on the day Cabinet embarked on its journey.
The first achievement made by Lebanese authorities was represented in the arrest of nine suspects involved in the kidnapping. The second achievement, however, was represented by a decision taken by the previous government [of PM Saad Hariri] which provided Estonian authorities with outcome of the investigations and the addresses from which two video tapes were broadcast via YouTube in which the Estonians appeared pleading for help. Lebanese security services had identified the whereabouts of the kidnappers as two different places in Damascus at the time.
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