07 December 2010

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman called on the Lebanese Monday to close ranks in order to ward off the threat of sectarian strife hanging over the country as a result of an impending indictment into former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination.

Speaking at a ceremony kicking off the judicial year at Beirut’s Justice Palace, Sleiman accused Israel of attempts to undermine stability and national unity in Lebanon.

“The [Israeli] enemy is waiting for opportunities to concoct plots, spread rumors and incite sentiments in a bid to undermine national unity, strike stability and fabricate excuses with the aim of destroying Lebanon,” Sleiman said.

Referring to the arrest by Lebanese authorities of “hundreds” of people suspected of spying for Israel and the Israeli infiltration of the Lebanese telecommunications network, he said, “Let’s be vigilant so that we can nip the strife in the bud before it breaks out.”

He added that the Lebanese should not go down in the annals of history as a people who have allowed the outbreak of strife in “a self-destructive process.”

“We have paid a heavy price for our national unity. Let’s preserve it,” Sleiman said at the ceremony attended by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Cabinet members, MPs and other dignitaries.

Sleiman said the Lebanese are capable of resolving their differences through dialogue, tolerance and the respect of the Constitution and state institutions.

The president’s unity plea came as Lebanon is facing the threat of sectarian strife and instability over the upcoming indictment, which is widely expected to implicate some Hizbullah members in Hariri’s assassination.

It came amid media reports that the indictment would be released this month, further heightening political tension in the country. The indictment will be issued by the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is investigating Hariri’s assassination.

The unity appeal also came against the backdrop of a Cabinet paralysis, mainly as a result of a deepening split between the March 8 and March 14 camps over the STL’s work and its indictment.

The Cabinet has not met since November 10 due to a dispute between the two camps over the issue of “false witnesses” linked to the UN probe in Hariri’s assassination. Saad Hariri, who returned to Beirut Monday, said last week he would call for a Cabinet session immediately upon his return. Hariri met with Sleiman Monday evening to discuss the possibility of convening a Cabinet session.

Earlier Monday, Sleiman met with MP Walid Jumblatt, concluding five days of consultations with leaders and politicians from the March 8 and March 14 camps aimed at ending the state of paralysis in the country and resuming the Cabinet’s sessions.

However, no major breakthrough was reported in these consultations as the two camps remain at loggerheads over how to handle the controversial issue of “false witnesses” who allegedly misled the UN probe into Hariri’s assassination.

The March 8 camp insists that the Cabinet act on this issue by a vote or any other means. Both Sleiman and Hariri are staunchly opposed to a Cabinet vote on this issue to avoid a further split among the ministers.

The consultations included the 19 leaders and politicians who make up the National Dialogue Committee. The split has also stalled the committee’s meetings. The committee has been meeting under Sleiman since last year to discuss a defense strategy.

In his speech, Sleiman warned that the Middle East is passing through an “extremely delicate phase,” saying that Lebanon is in the eye of the storm. “The scale of justice has been tilted since the creation of Israel, which has been founded on aggression and the displacement of the Palestinians from their land,” he said.

Both Sleiman and Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar underlined the need for the judiciary to be independent and free of the influence of politicians.

“Since my swearing-in speech, I have expressed my belief that independence of the judicial authority is essential to consecrate justice,” Sleiman said, adding that the Higher Justice Council is preparing a draft law guaranteeing the judiciary’s independence. Sleiman called on the Cabinet and Parliament to approve this law as soon as possible.

“The need seems to be more urgent for the judiciary to protect itself against political favoritism, personal interests and other incentives,” Sleiman said. He also voiced his support for improving the conditions of Lebanese prisons as well as the rehabilitation of inmates.

Addressing the ceremony, Najjar renewed his call for keeping the judiciary away from political influence. Referring to the recent appointments within the judiciary, Najjar said: “We sought [in these appointments], to keep, to a large extent, the judiciary away from politics and to discourage some judges from drifting toward politics.”

“Therefore, we call again today for a firm separation between politics and justice,” Najjar said.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly reiterated her country’s support for the STL. “The US reaffirms its view of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as an independent judicial entity that must continue to remain free from political interference. The STL’s work is legitimate and necessary,” she said after meeting Hariri Monday. “The [STL’s] goal is to end impunity for political assassinations,” she added.

“Without justice, it will be impossible to achieve the future of peace and stability – the normal life that the Lebanese people deserve. Thus, presenting justice and stability as a choice is wrong. Lebanon, like any country, needs both,” Connelly said.

But a senior Hizbullah official warned that the STL indictment will change the situation in Lebanon. “The indictment will put Lebanon in a new stage that will go down in the annals of history that the post-indictment phase will not be the same as before,” Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, vice chairman of Hizbullah’s Executive Council, told a rally in the southern village of Sowana.

He hinted at Hizbullah’s reaction to any indictment that would implicate some of its members in Hariri’s assassination.

“The Resistance possesses plenty of choices and the capability to protect its dignity and the dignity of the fighters and protect its achievements which were made as a result of the martyrs’ sacrifices,” Qaouk said in his remarks, which were carried by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

He said that the Saudi-Syrian efforts seeking to find a solution for the Lebanese crisis over the indictment provided “the only chance for confronting the American scheme to stir up strife” in Lebanon. But the “American veto” is hindering the Arab solution for the Lebanese crisis, he said.

Meanwhile, Speaker Berri’s remarks accusing the March 14 camp of obstructing the Cabinet’s work have sparked quick responses from this camp.

As-Safir newspaper quoted Berri, part of the March 8 camp, as saying that the March 14 coalition is responsible for the Cabinet paralysis. He also said that the ball is now in Sleiman’s and Hariri’s court to call a Cabinet session.

Hariri’s parliamentary Future bloc accused the March 8 factions of obstructing the Cabinet’s work by insisting on the issue of “false witnesses” to be included on the Cabinet’s agenda.

“This a frank call for violating the Constitution and clear laws. It is also an interference in the Cabinet’s agenda and amounts to an infringement on the prime minister’s prerogatives in setting the Cabinet’s agenda,” said a statement issued after the bloc’s meeting chaired by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

MP Atef Majdalani, a member of the Future bloc, rejected Berri’s accusation and instead accused the March 8 factions of crippling the Cabinet’s work. “The one who is obstructing is the one who is putting conditions on including the issue of false witnesses on the Cabinet’s agenda as a sole item,” he told Voice of Lebanon radio station.

Copyright The Daily Star 2010.