Beirut paralysed by labour strike

Earlier, judicial sources told The Daily Star that judicial authorities have started an investigation into the accusations made against Hizbullah regarding setting up cameras.

The sources said that the military prosecutor, Judge Sami Sader, heard testimony on Monday of a number of soldiers who discovered the existence of cameras placed inside containers in an area that oversees runway 17 of the airport.

According to the sources, some of the security personnel who discovered the cameras also spotted a number of civilians who were taking photos of the airport from the same areas where the containers are placed.

The sources added that the investigation will also focus on whether the airport security forces were taking the necessary measures to prevent surveillance operations.

As for the phone network, Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah said Sunday that the group's communications are "part of the resistance's arsenal."

Progressive Socialist Party Jumblatt earlier accused Hizbullah of setting up a private phone network in Beirut's southern suburbs, the South, the Bekaa, and in some areas in Mount Lebanon. He also claimed that the network was connected to Syria.

"It is not a secret that the resistance has its own private phone network, which is used to prevent Israel from monitoring phone calls between the group's officials. This private network played a great role in Hizbullah's success against Israel in the 2006 July-August war," Fadlallah said. "The network can be viewed as part of our arsenal and we will not allow any party to touch it. Speaking about this particular issue now is nothing but delivering services to the Israeli enemy."

BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun called on his supporters to take part in demonstrations on Wednesday in a bid to increase pressure on the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to resign. The General Labor Confederation (GLC) is staging a general strike on Wednesday to protest government policies and demand an increase in wages.

Aoun distinguished between demonstrating and rioting.

"While rioting is forbidden, every citizen enjoys the right to demonstrate peacefully in order to achieve national demands," he said.

Aoun called on all workers and employees to demonstrate on May 7, blaming the government for the country's political and economic crises.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of his Reform and Change parliamentary bloc, Aoun said that calling for the immediate electing of a new president without agreeing on a new electoral law for the 2009 parliamentary elections was against the interest of Lebanon's Christian community.

Aoun accused the parliamentary majority of not wanting to draft a new electoral law.

"They don't want to discuss the electoral law with us because they prefer to stage the next elections under the 2000 electoral law," Aoun said.

BEIRUT: Former Minister Wiam Wahhab slammed Saudi Arabia on Monday, accusing it of issuing "orders of operation," to its allies in Lebanon. "The orders given by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal are influencing the ground after they influenced politics especially following the sudden attacks launched by MPs Walid Jumblatt and Saad Hariri against Hizbullah and the opposition," Wahhab said. "Such remarks have obstructed all attempts at a solution." He added that "Saudi-funded militias" in Lebanon have been active throughout the country in an attempt to further destabilize the already fragile situation. "This provocation requires that the Saudi ambassador in Lebanon, who is complementing the US ambassador's role, be chastised," Wahhab said, accusing him of financing activities that are pushing the country toward chaos.