05 February 2007

BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora accused Speaker Nabih Berri on Sunday of "overreacting" to a request by the government for the UN to pass a proposed international court under Chapter 7, and called for a return to "the language of dialogue" between political leaders. "Lebanon's problems aren't solved by inflammatory speeches or emotional statements, but through meetings and dialogue," Siniora told reporters.

In a statement issued Saturday, Berri accused Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri and the "illegitimate" government headed by Siniora of sending "fabricated letters to the United Nations day and night ... the latest of which was a letter sent three days ago paving the way for a demand that the establishment of the tribunal be conducted under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter."

The speaker was referring to an outline for an international tribunal to try those accused of the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Creating the court under Chapter 7 would relieve the government of the need to pass the draft beforehand in Parliament.

"Now our suspicions concerning why the opposition ministers were not allowed to discuss the tribunal plan have been confirmed," Berri said.

Meanwhile, Arab League chief Amr Moussa, expected to return to Beirut next week to resume mediations between Lebanon's entrenched political camps, called Berri on Sunday to discuss the latest developments. No details were released about the conversation.

But an Arab diplomatic source told the Agence France Presse that an Arab League envoy would arrive in Beirut on Monday to prepare for Moussa's arrival.

Ambassador Hisham Yussef, a top aide to Moussa, will be in Lebanon for 48 hours from Monday to meet government and opposition leaders, the source said.

Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh has said Moussa will arrive in Lebanon on Thursday.

But in the latest public row in Beirut, Siniora said the government had never hidden its communications with the UN.

"The letter Berri referred to is one informing the secretary general of the UN of the petition signed by 70 MPs calling for the convening of an extraordinary parliamentary session," he explained. "It was no big secret."

"This is not the right way to address each other, as Lebanese and as institutions," he added in reference to the comments Saturday from Berri.

Also on Sunday, Naim Qassem, the deputy secretary general of Hizbullah praised Berri for protecting "the institution of

Parliament" during a ceremony held to honor those killed during clashes at Beirut Arab University on January 25.

"We will need a solid Parliament once the unconstitutional government is brought down, as we will need Parliament to form the basis of a new government to pass a new electoral law and to set up an international tribunal which serves all the Lebanese," he said.

Qassem warned the March 14 Forces against relying on US and French support.

"True strength comes from within Lebanon and from its people, and if you don't have that then your power will fail," he said.

Qassem identified a three-step solution to the political deadlock: a "balanced" participation in government; the establishment of a "criminal tribunal, not a political one;" and early parliamentary elections.

"We welcome the Saudi-Iranian, and any Arab, initiative as we want a solution to the crisis like everyone else," he added.

Berri also responded Sunday to an interview with Hariri published in pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Saturday, in which the MP accused the speaker of delaying a parliamentary session to ratify the tribunal until the UN probe into the Hariri assassination was completed.

A statement from the speaker's office said "the suggestion to postpone the endorsement of the tribunal plan until the completion of the international probe simply did not originate with Speaker Berri."

"When is the speaker of Parliament going to let go of the legislature so the tribunal draft can be ratified?" Hariri had asked in the Al-Hayat interview.

The Future Movement leader suggested Damascus was behind delays in approving the tribunal.

"It has become clear that the regional party which does not support Saudi-Iranian attempts in finding an end to the Lebanon crisis is the same party which is against the establishment of the tribunal, and is the same party which the March 8 Forces are honored to be allied with," he said in an indirect reference to Syria.

In other comments on the court, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said he was surprised by the March 14 Forces' insistence on "changing Lebanon's criminal laws as part of the tribunal plan."

"We have supported the International Investigation Committee and we have supported the international tribunal to try the criminals, and we still do," Aoun said in a separate interview with Al-Hayat also published Saturday.

"Why do we want to introduce amendments to Lebanese laws? Why do we want a law for trying presidents?" he asked

The FPM leader said Lebanese law already dealt clearly with any president who was found to be "a doer, a culprit, a conspirator, a provoker and an accomplice" in a crime.

Speaking to the Voice of Lebanon radio on Sunday, resigned Health Minister Mohammad Khalifeh described the state of affairs in Lebanon as "frightening and dangerous."

"I don't believe either political camp has full control over the internal affairs, as there are far too many regional and international players involved," Khalifeh said.

Syria also made its opinions known over the weekend, with front-page editorials in state-owned dailies Tishrin and Ath-Thawra accusing the March 14 Forces of serving "the will" of America and France.

Hizbullah MP Mohammad Raad echoed the accusations of Western interference.

"The ruling majority keeps criticizing the opposition for being influenced by outside forces while they proceed accordingly to instructions by the US and France," Raad said. - With Naharnet, agencies