Hariri in Egypt to strengthen ties

BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in Cairo on Wednesday on his first official visit for talks with top officials, including President Hosni Mubarak, his office said. Hariri is accompanied by Foreign Minister Ali Shami, Economy Minister Mohammad Safadi, Information Minister Tarek Mitri and other officials, a statement said. 

He is also accompanied for the first time by his wife Lara, who lives in Saudi Arabia with the couple’s three children. 

Hariri’s visit comes after trips to France and Turkey earlier this month and after his landmark December trip to former arch-foe Syria, which he had accused in the past of the 2005 assassination of his father, ex-premier Rafik Hariri. 

The premier’s visit also comes just a day after an Egyptian prosecutor demanded the death sentence for 26 alleged militants of Lebanese Shiite group Hizbullah. 

The group, which include Lebanese, Palestinians and Sudanese, is accused of plotting attacks against ships in the Suez Canal and tourist sites, of spying, and other crimes. 

The defendants say they never planned the attacks but sought to help the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza, who have close ties with Hizbullah. 

The trial has reignited a war of words between Egypt, Hizbullah and its Iranian backers. 

Egypt, which has no formal diplomatic ties with Shiite Iran, accuses Tehran of backing the terror plot. 

Future Movement bloc MP Ahmad Fatfat told New TV on Wednesday that he had no information on whether or not Prime Minister Saad Hariri was playing a mediating role in the court case against the alleged Hizbullah members. 

Fatfat said that the public should wait for the court’s verdict instead of making speculations, adding that the “the most important thing is for the suspects to have a fair trial.” 

Commenting on Hariri’s state visit to Egypt, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit told reporters in Paris that talks would focus on promoting mutual cooperation. 

He also condemned recent Israeli threats against Lebanon. 

“We are against any act which would be unjustified and unacceptable,” he said. 

Asked about the trial of the Hizbullah cell, Abu al-Gheit said that the official stance endorsed the judiciary’s decision on Tuesday. He added that there will be no place of “political compromises.” 

“This is a legal situation, a crime took place on Egyptian soil and the Egyptian judiciary will look into it; and I don’t believe that Lebanon is concerned in this case,” Egypt’s foreign minister said. 

In separate news, President Michel Sleiman met on Tuesday with Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss the latest political developments as well as the rescue operations following Monday’s Ethiopian airliner crash. Berri did no make comments to reporters following the talks. 

Cabinet postponed Tuesday’s scheduled discussions on proposed reforms to the municipal electoral law as ministers tackled ongoing efforts and cooperation between ministries to conclude rescue operations and investigations into Monday’s Ethiopian Airlines plane crash. 

The government will meet again Friday to discuss reform to the electoral law ahead of municipal elections in June. 

In comments published on Wednesday, Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud said his ministry was willing to update the voter rolls to include the names of people between the ages of 18 and 21 if the municipal electoral law is amended. 

He added that such a process was time consuming. 

Baroud also commented on certain groups linking lowering the voting age to granting Lebanese expatriates the right to vote in their countries of residence, saying that “such arguments is more political than practical.” – The Daily Star, with AFP