10 October 2008

BEIRUT: Premier Fouad Siniora said late on Thursday that it was not possible for Syria to send its troops to Lebanon despite a recent Syrian troop buildup along Lebanon's northern border.

Siniora told reporters after meeting President Michel Sleiman that the Cabinet would discuss on Friday the Syrian deployment, among other issues.

"We should not make any judgments in this regard ... this issue will be discussed in tomorrow's Cabinet session," he said.

"Some are speaking about Syrian military intervention in Lebanon ... this is not possible in my opinion," he added.

Asked when Beirut and Damascus would exchange ambassadors, Siniora said that Lebanon had taken all the necessary measures in this regard, adding that Syria still had to take some measures for its part.

Siniora visited Sleiman at the Presidential Palace to discuss the agenda of Friday's Cabinet session. Sleiman will head the session at the Presidential Palace before visiting Saudi Arabia on Sunday for talks with King Abdullah. Siniora said he hoped Sleiman's visit would enhance bilateral cooperation between Beirut and Riyadh.

Separately on Thursday, Minister of State Wael Abu Faour said Lebanon wants a clear and logical explanation from Damascus regarding the sudden Syrian deployment. Syria recently deployed almost 10,000 troops along the northern border, claiming the measure was aimed at countering smuggling.

Sleiman contacted Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier this week to inquire about the deployment. Assad reportedly assured Sleiman that the sole aim of the troop buildup was to combat smuggling.

"We fully trust Sleiman, but we insist that the Syrians should provide Lebanon with a clear explanation of the military measures being taken along Lebanon's northern border and elsewhere," Abu Faour said after meeting Siniora.

In another development, Siniora presided on Thursday over a meeting at the Grand Serial to discuss ongoing efforts to rebuild the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared.

The camp was destroyed during last year's clashes between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants of Fatah al-Islam.

Siniora also contacted on Thursday Arab League chief Amr Moussa and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit.

Separately, former Future MP Ghattas Khoury said on Thursday that there were no serious political obstacles in the way of a reconciliation meeting between Future leader Saad Hariri and Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

"However, there are a number of arrangements that need to be done ahead of the meeting," he told LBC television.

Also on Thursday, Hizbullah's second in command Sheikh Naim Qassem said that Lebanon would remain calm in the next couple of months ahead of the 2009 parliamentary elections.

"We will be seeing a kind of mandatory calm in the next couple of months as the parties who were responsible for creating tension in Lebanon are now busy with other affairs," he said.

"The drive for reconciliations reflects this atmosphere of calm, but it is important to know that some parties are taking part in the reconciliations because they have no other choice," he added.

Qassem reiterated that reconciliation would not necessarily lead to new political alliances.

Meanwhile, Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh said late on Wednesday that he was against bilateral reconciliation between his party and the Lebanese Forces, insisting that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's attendance was necessary for the success of any Christian reconciliation.

"Aoun's participation would lead to achieving a comprehensive reconciliation among Christian leaders," he told Orange TV.

Franjieh criticized the LF for allegedly linking Aoun's participation to that of MP Nayla Mouawad. "They believe that they can challenge me through proposing the participation of Mouawad ... we will not accept handling the reconciliation on a tit for tat concept," he said.

Mouawad is Franjieh's rival in the Christian qada of Zgharta.

The Marada leader said LF chief Samir Geagea would be responsible for any harm inflicted on him (Franjieh) in the future. "If something bad happens to me, Geagea would be either the perpetrator or beneficiary as he might say later that the Syrians killed Franjieh to obstruct Christian reconciliation."

© Copyright The Daily Star 2008.

 

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