31 July 2010

BEIRUT: Friday’s visit by Syrian President Bashar Assad and Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz to Lebanon was welcomed by rival Lebanese parties, with members of the parliamentary majority ruling out any impact on the course of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).

President Michel Sleiman hosted a tripartite summit with Assad and the Saudi monarch at Baabda Palace.

Also, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifah al-Thani kicked off a visit to Lebanon Friday evening following Assad and King Abdullah’s departure.

Former Prime Minister and Sidon MP Fouad Siniora said King Abdullah and Assad’s visit to Lebanon was a “historic” one and aimed at delivering a message that Syria and Saudi Arabia were concerned with peace and stability in Lebanon.

“They will not allow any party to harm domestic security or to turn Lebanon into an arena for adventurism, of any kind,” said Siniora.

The head of the Future Movement’s parliamentary bloc spoke during an interview with cable news network CNN.

Siniora ruled out any linkage between the summit at Baabda Palace and an upcoming indictment to be issued by the STL, saying that the tribunal was independent and that the results of its investigations could not be anticipated.

The former premier, who headed a government at a time of extreme tension between Beirut and Damascus, said the Lebanese and Syrians should establish the best possible bilateral relations.

Reports about a possible indictment by the STL of Hizbullah members in the assassination of Former Premier Rafik Hariri have raised concerns over renewed strife in the country.

The STL’s president, Antonio Cassese, has said that he expects an indictment by the end of this year.

In a recent address, the leader of Hizbullah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, predicted that rogue members of his party would be charged with Harari’s assassination.

While rejecting the indictment, Nasrallah said they reflected Israeli and US attempts to target the resistance.

Chouf MP Mohammad Hajjar, a Future Movement official, praised the Saudi monarch for triggering a series of Arab visits which he said aimed at countering Iranian attempts to use Lebanon as a tool in Iran’s negotiations with the international community over its nuclear program.

For his part, Batroun MP Antoine Zahra dubbed the meeting at Baabda as the “summit of restoring calm,” rather than solving Lebanon’s domestic problems.

Speaking to Al-Jadeed Television, Zahra said the Saudi king’s visit to Lebanon had nothing to do with the STL, which was not up for negotiation.

“The other side hopes that Syrian President Bashar Assad will convince King Abdullah to abandon the tribunal, and this is unlikely; I reiterate that this summit is aimed only at restoring calm,” said Zahra.

“Hizbullah is still dreaming of taking control of Lebanon,” the lawmaker added.

Zahra voiced his respect for Saudi Arabia and King Abdullah for his keenness to safeguard Lebanon’s official political institutions and its society.

He accused Hizbullah of planning to instigate strife in Lebanon since it was the only party capable of doing so.

Meanwhile, former Minister Jean Obeid said in a statement that Friday’s visit by the three Arab leaders to Lebanon was an occasion to remind some Lebanese leaders “of the sacredness of unity, and to avoid the Israeli trap that wants them to once again fight each other and become displaced in their country, under any pretext.”

Metn MP Salim Salhab noted that the visit by the Saudi king and Syrian president reflected continuous Syrian-Saudi consensus over the situation in Lebanon. He urged Lebanese officials “to take such a fact into consideration and work for the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese.”

Salhab, a member of the Change and Reform Parliamentary bloc, welcomed the Qatari emir’s trip to Lebanon, saying it “has an additional positive impact on domestic conditions.”

Salhab commended Qatar’s role in brokering the 2008 Doha accord, along with contributing to reconstruction works following Israel’s deadly war against Lebanon in the summer of 2006.

Former President Emile Lahoud welcomed Assad’s visit to Lebanon without commenting on King Abdullah’s visit.

Lahoud said in a statement that Assad’s trip to Lebanon indicated he had overcome the anti-Syrian rhetoric of Lebanese politicians in recent years, hoping that the visit would prompt Lebanon to “honestly” restore good ties with its “closest brother.”

Copyright The Daily Star 2010.