Future of Lahoud and Hezbollah: two questions standing in the way of inter-Lebanese dialogue
Arab League summit tomorrow to discuss Syria-Lebanon relations. Siniora, following a visit to Saudi Arabia, affirms his will to visit Damascus to tackle the questions dividing the two countries.
Beirut (AsiaNews) Politics today in Beirut revolved around the questions of the future of the country's president, the pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud (thanks to whom the fourth phase of inter-Lebanese dialogue was postponed to Monday), Hezbollah disarmament and relations between Lebanon and Syria, on the eve of the Arab League summit. For the second time in recent weeks, the "Dialogue" among the 14 Lebanese political leaders was opened and immediately adjourned. The main question on the agenda was the country's presidency. "No result was achieved," parliamentary speaker, Nabih Berri, said, "and this point remains on the agenda for the next session."
Meanwhile, Lahoud has confirmed his participation in the annual summit of the Arab League, to be held in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, which will also be a venue for discussion on relations between Lebanon and Syria. Lebanon's prime minister, Fuad Siniora, will also take part in the summit: he announced today, on the heels of his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, that Lebanonese-Syrian relations were the focus of his meetings with King Abdullah, saying to reporters that "we have the same viewpoints and principles regarding these relations." Siniora also said that he was "willing and ready" to visit Syria to build good relations and resolve all the pending issues between us." But he also stated that he wanted to study the visit to its fullest before announcing it.
As for Lahoud's future, General Michel Aoun, a like-minded candidate to succeed the current head of state, said that there were only two paths available to the parliamentary majority: "accept the current constitution and therefore President Lahoud's continuation as head of state, with the need to change the current government, or reach an agreement on a successor, who must be representative." The new president, he said, "must have popular, national and humane-ethical credentials which enable him to lead the country at this critical juncture."
For his part, the head of Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea espressed "faith in dialogue so far" and reinforced the need to continue efforts that bring President Lahoud to step down. He said that he feared a "grey" result, "which would mean the protraction of this period of crisis" and renewed his call for a popular sit-in. On the qualities of a new president, Geagea said he was favourable to a "first-rate president, a politician par excellence."
According to journalistic sources, disagreements exists between Geagea and his ally, Saad Hariri, on the name of a new president, the latter being categorically against the election of a Lebanese Forces man, such as Georges Adwan, the Forces' deputy commander, accused of massacres during the civil war, and between Geagea and Cornet Chehwan, who is pushing for one of his men, such as lawmaker Boutros Harb.
Along with the problem of Lahoud's future, the Dialogue is also at a standstill on the search for a solution to the problem of disarming armed movements, in particular pro-Syrian Hezbollah, as required by Security Council Resolution 1559, dated September 2004. On this, UN special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said yesterday, while leaving Beirut, that the use of force was out of the question. "Our aim," he explained, "is to integrate Hezbollah into Lebanese armed forces."
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