Syria won't meddle in cabinet formation - Paris
Daily Star staff
BEIRUT: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said during a visit to Damascus on Sunday that Syria agrees Lebanon should be allowed to form a new government without outside interference. Both Damascus and Paris believe "it is up to the Lebanese to organize their government" following their elections in June won by a Western-backed camp, Kouchner said after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"It is up to the Lebanese parties which I met, including Hizbullah, to agree under the leadership of prime minister-designate Saad Hariri," said Kouchner, who also held talks last week in Beirut including with Hizbullah.
"There is a new spirit in Lebanon. There is a will to set up a national unity government as soon as possible," he said.
In Beirut on Friday, the French foreign minister said that he was pleased with the improvement of his country's relations with Syria, Lebanon's former powerbroker.
"I am not unaware that Syria continues to be important in this part of the world, and we are pleased to have established normal relations with Syria," Kouchner said.
Diplomats in Riyadh, meanwhile, say that the Saudi kingdom has welcomed Damascus' apparent non-interference in Lebanon's June 7 elections, which led to Hariri's designation as premier.
The French foreign minister had stressed on Saturday in Beirut that he "saw no major obstacles to the formation process of the Cabinet."
Following talks with opposition groups including Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, Kouchner expressed his belief that the formation of a national-unity government was the major focus of Lebanon's political leaders.
The minister said that succeeding in reaching an agreement on the cabinet's make-up would mean major progress in the political situation.
In an interview published on Saturday, Kouchner told the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that a government make-up involving veto power contradicted democratic values.
"The concept of veto power in the government is not democratic," he said.
Kouchner added that the next Cabinet should be able to "function normally away from tension and opposition."
On Saturday, Prime Minister-designate Hariri said the formation of the upcoming national-unity government would be "completed on time."
Following deliberations with President Michel Sleiman regarding the Cabinet's make-up at the Baabda Palace, Hariri stressed that he and the president shared the concern of reaching an agreement on the structure of the new cabinet.
Hariri also highlighted that the formation course was moving forward "according to [constitutional] norms."
Also commenting on the government formation, Hizbullah's Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Nieem Qassem stressed on Sunday that Lebanon's nation-building process could only move forward based on consensus among Lebanese factions.
Qassem said that both the opposition and the parliamentary majority agreed that the next cabinet should be governed by consensus; however he added that "both groups have so far different perceptions."
Hizbullah's second in command explained that monopoly over decision making in the past period "almost led to the country's destruction." Qassem added that the opposition demanded real partnership "so as to preserve Lebanon's security."
Concerning the implementation of United Nation Security Council Resolution 1701, which put an end to the summer 2006 war with Israel, Qassem slammed the almost-daily Israeli violations and continued occupation of Lebanese territories.
Qassem said Lebanon fully implemented Security Council Resolution 1701, adding that the international community should pressure Israel to halt its breaches to Lebanon's sovereignty.
Qassem also welcomed recent visits to Beirut by foreign officials "as long as they acknowledge that Lebanon can only be ruled through consensus on key issues."
Tackling reconciliation efforts between Hizbullah and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Qassem said the reconciliation course was in progress given the agreement on key political principles between the two parties.
Reconciliation efforts kicked off last month following talks between Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and PSP head MP Walid Jumblatt and aimed to put an end to Shiite-Druze sectarian tensions. Sectarian tension built up following clashes between Hizbullah and PSP supporters in the Chouf mountains region in May 2008 subsequent to the government's decision to dismantle Hizbullah's telecommunication network.
Also on Sunday, Amal Movement MP Hassan Khalil expressed his party's will to cooperate with the next government to help Lebanon overcome its political and economic crisis.
Khalil stressed on Sunday that his party wanted "to join hands with Hariri to establish a real partnership in the Cabinet."
"A government based on real partnership would be capable of handling Lebanon's future challenges," Khalil said. - The Daily Star, with AFP
Daily Star staff
BEIRUT: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said during a visit to Damascus on Sunday that Syria agrees Lebanon should be allowed to form a new government without outside interference. Both Damascus and Paris believe "it is up to the Lebanese to organize their government" following their elections in June won by a Western-backed camp, Kouchner said after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"It is up to the Lebanese parties which I met, including Hizbullah, to agree under the leadership of prime minister-designate Saad Hariri," said Kouchner, who also held talks last week in Beirut including with Hizbullah.
"There is a new spirit in Lebanon. There is a will to set up a national unity government as soon as possible," he said.
In Beirut on Friday, the French foreign minister said that he was pleased with the improvement of his country's relations with Syria, Lebanon's former powerbroker.
"I am not unaware that Syria continues to be important in this part of the world, and we are pleased to have established normal relations with Syria," Kouchner said.
Diplomats in Riyadh, meanwhile, say that the Saudi kingdom has welcomed Damascus' apparent non-interference in Lebanon's June 7 elections, which led to Hariri's designation as premier.
The French foreign minister had stressed on Saturday in Beirut that he "saw no major obstacles to the formation process of the Cabinet."
Following talks with opposition groups including Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, Kouchner expressed his belief that the formation of a national-unity government was the major focus of Lebanon's political leaders.
The minister said that succeeding in reaching an agreement on the cabinet's make-up would mean major progress in the political situation.
In an interview published on Saturday, Kouchner told the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that a government make-up involving veto power contradicted democratic values.
"The concept of veto power in the government is not democratic," he said.
Kouchner added that the next Cabinet should be able to "function normally away from tension and opposition."
On Saturday, Prime Minister-designate Hariri said the formation of the upcoming national-unity government would be "completed on time."
Following deliberations with President Michel Sleiman regarding the Cabinet's make-up at the Baabda Palace, Hariri stressed that he and the president shared the concern of reaching an agreement on the structure of the new cabinet.
Hariri also highlighted that the formation course was moving forward "according to [constitutional] norms."
Also commenting on the government formation, Hizbullah's Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Nieem Qassem stressed on Sunday that Lebanon's nation-building process could only move forward based on consensus among Lebanese factions.
Qassem said that both the opposition and the parliamentary majority agreed that the next cabinet should be governed by consensus; however he added that "both groups have so far different perceptions."
Hizbullah's second in command explained that monopoly over decision making in the past period "almost led to the country's destruction." Qassem added that the opposition demanded real partnership "so as to preserve Lebanon's security."
Concerning the implementation of United Nation Security Council Resolution 1701, which put an end to the summer 2006 war with Israel, Qassem slammed the almost-daily Israeli violations and continued occupation of Lebanese territories.
Qassem said Lebanon fully implemented Security Council Resolution 1701, adding that the international community should pressure Israel to halt its breaches to Lebanon's sovereignty.
Qassem also welcomed recent visits to Beirut by foreign officials "as long as they acknowledge that Lebanon can only be ruled through consensus on key issues."
Tackling reconciliation efforts between Hizbullah and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Qassem said the reconciliation course was in progress given the agreement on key political principles between the two parties.
Reconciliation efforts kicked off last month following talks between Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and PSP head MP Walid Jumblatt and aimed to put an end to Shiite-Druze sectarian tensions. Sectarian tension built up following clashes between Hizbullah and PSP supporters in the Chouf mountains region in May 2008 subsequent to the government's decision to dismantle Hizbullah's telecommunication network.
Also on Sunday, Amal Movement MP Hassan Khalil expressed his party's will to cooperate with the next government to help Lebanon overcome its political and economic crisis.
Khalil stressed on Sunday that his party wanted "to join hands with Hariri to establish a real partnership in the Cabinet."
"A government based on real partnership would be capable of handling Lebanon's future challenges," Khalil said. - The Daily Star, with AFP
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