Arab states to arm Syrian opposition

Arab states will discuss arming the Syrian opposition, Arab media reports Wednesday. Liberal Arab daily Al-Hayat published in London reports that an Arab League decision to arm the forces fighting the Syrian army has now become “an official decision” following this week’s decision by Arab foreign ministers to supply the Syrian opposition with “all forms of political and material support.”

Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a hard-line daily published in London, leads its coverage with the rising civilian death toll in Syria, but adds that Arab states will be willing to arm the opposition “if the violence does not stop.”

“Two bombs a minute on Homs,” reads the headline of Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat, stressing the soaring level of government violence directed at Homs and other Syrian cities. The newspaper reports a “preliminary” death toll of 35 across Syria on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera reports a nightly raid of Assad forces on the city of Hamah, coupled by heavy bombardment of the city.

“Are Russia and China enemies of the Arabs?” asks columnist Rashad Abu-Shawar in Al-Quds Al-Arabi, echoing the sentiment of many Arabs following a UN veto on action against Syria. The answer he gives is a resounding No. By standing up to the United States and defending the Palestinian cause,  argues Abu-Shawar, Russia and China continue to prove they are allies of the Arab nation.

“Those who stand with Palestine are friends and are on the side of truth. China and Russia stand for justice in Palestine and do not support the Zionist entity with money or arms.”

Fahmi Huweidi, an Al-Jazeera columnist, sees things differently. “We owe an apology to the Syrian people, which is being slaughtered before our eyes every day for eleven months,” he writes on Wednesday. “The Arab nations have let it down, taking the position of spectator, as though the ‘heart of Arabness’ is surrounded by Arabs without a heart.”

‘Iranian Spring’ in full swing

A-Arabiya, a Dubai-based news channel, reports anti-government demonstrations in various Iranian cities, in what it dubs “an Iranian Spring modeled after the Arab Spring.” The television footage displays demonstrators pulling down a government sign featuring the faces of Iranian leaders. Anti-Khaminei slogans were even sounded in the holy city of Qom, the reports states, adding that hundreds of political activists have been arrested in the mostly Arab Ahwaz province of Iran.

Meanwhile, A-Sharq Al-Awsat links the failed bombing attack in Bangkok, Thailand, with two previous Iranian attacks against Israeli targets in New Delhi, India and Tbilisi, Georgia. “Following India and Georgia, two Iranians apprehended in Bangkok bombings,” reports its headline, accompanied by a photo of two police officers surveying the scene of the explosion in the Thai capital.

Iran, for its part, condemns the Bangkok attack but denies involvement in it, claiming that “Israeli agents” are often behind such attacks, Iranian Fars News Agency reports.

Al-Hayat reports the deployment of security forces in Tehran Tuesday in preparation of wide-spread demonstrations. Opposition leaders Mir-Hussein Muossavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been held under house arrest for over a year, are comparing the oppression in Iran today to that which took place during the time of the Shah prior to the 1979 revolution, the daily adds.

Egypt gears up for presidential elections

Egypt’s presidential elections are scheduled for the end of May. The Muslim Brotherhood has not yet designated a candidate, the government daily Al-Ahram reports, but Ahmad Shafiq, a former prime minister and army general, announced his candidacy Tuesday, promising to be “an exemplary, honest leader,” independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reports.

Shafiq is considered to be an appointee of the military establishment currently ruling Egypt. He admits consulting with Field Marshal Muhammad Hussein Tantawi, leader of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) whom he describes as a “brother and dear friend,” before deciding to run, but denies that he is “an army candidate.”

“Shafiq is considered the most important military candidate in the presidential race so far,” reports Al-Quds Al-Arabi, adding that many in the military establishment have reservations about him since he is considered to be a disciple of deposed president Hosni Mubarak.

Hariri to Lebanese Christians: fear not

Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri reasured Lebanese Christians that they will be protected regardless of political developments in neighboring Syria. Hariri spoke at a rally marking the seventh anniversary of the killing of his father, former prime minister and billionaire Rafiq Hariri.

The rally, held in downtown Beirut, harshly condemned Bashar Assad’s crackdown on the Syrian opposition, Al-Hayat reports.

“We do not support the revolutions only because they are against the regimes,” said former president and head of the Phalanges party Amine Gemayel. “We support them because they stand for democracy and freedom. Lebanon is at the forefront of defending man.”