General Michel Sulaiman Welcomes Qatari-Brokered Lebanese Agreement, Ending Crisis, Electing President Sunday

 

Qatar Formally Announces Agreement Between Lebanese Rivals

Mohamad Shumaysani

almanar.com, 21/05/2008

 Qatar formally announced on Wednesday a deal between Lebanon's opposition and ruling bloc to end an 18-month political crisis that will see Army commander General Michel Sulaiman elected as president within 24 hours.
 
The agreement, announced by Qatari FM Shaikh Hamad Bin Jassem al- Thani, also stipulates that Lebanese leaders would not use arms for political gains. "The agreement also calls for re-launching the dialogue under the management of the Lebanese president and ending the use of the language of sectarianism," Shaikh Hamad said.   
 
The agreement also said that a government will be formed based on a 16-11-3 formula (16 for the ruling bloc, 11 for the opposition and 3 to be chosen by the president), adoption of the Qada-based 1960 electoral law with Beirut divided into three constituencies:
 
- The first electoral district comprising Al-Ashrafiye, Al-Rumeil and Al-Saifi with five seats: Two Armenians, one Maronite, one Orthodox and one Catholic.

- The second electoral district comprising Bashoura, Medawwar and Marfa' with four seats: One Sunni, one Shiite and two Armenians.

- The third electoral district comprising Mazraa, Msaytbe, Ras Beirut, Mina el Hosn, Zaqa el Blat and Dar el Mrayseh with ten seats: Five Sunnis, one Shi'i, one Druze, one Orthodox, one Evangelical, and one for the minorities.
 
Qatari Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa said that "the conference has succeeded because all the parties shouldered their responsibilities courageously."  
 
A senior opposition delegate told the Al-Safir daily that "there is no problem with the new government's Policy Statement which will underline the context of the current government's Statement, stress on the respect of international resolutions, tackle the issue of not using weapons to achieve political gains and stress on the commitment to the decisions reached during the 2006 dialogue.
 
For his part, Arab League Secretary General who spoke after Shaikh Hamad thanked Qatar for the effort it exerted along side the Arab League to solve the crisis in this Arab country. "We have proven that the no victor – no vanquished formula in Lebanon is the road to safety," Mussa said. 
 
Speaking afterwards, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri thanked Qatar for hosting the dialogue and the great role it played to reach this agreement. "10,452 km2 were not enough to bring us together, but a Qatari plane managed to do so," Berri said.
To express gratitude Berri said that the opposition wishes to thank Qatar and "officially end the sit-in in downtown Beirut as of today." As soon as Berri finished his statement, opposition members began dismantling the camp.
 
The head of the unconstitutional government Fouad Al-Saniora for his part, thanked in a long speech the state of Qatar for the achievement. ” The agreement we reached is an exceptional agreement amid exceptional circumstances for an exceptional phase… We want Arab states to help us redress Lebanon’s relations with sister Syria," Saniora said.

General Sulaiman Pleased with Doha Agreement
 
almanar.com, 21/05/2008

Lebanese Army Commander General Michel Suleiman told AFP he was very pleased with the agreement reached by the Lebanese leaders in Doha to end the political crisis. The Doha agreement stipulates that General Suleiman would be elected as president within 24 hours.

At the eve of his expected election, a look into the life and characteristics of Lebanon's consensus candidate, who's set to become Lebanon's 12th president, would be useful.

General Michel Nuhad Sulaiman, 59, was born in 1948 in the northern coastal town of Amsheet. He graduated from the military academy in 1970. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political and Administrative Sciences from the Lebanese University and speaks well both French and English languages. The general is married to Wafaa Suleiman and has three children.

By the end of the year 1998, General Suleiman was appointed commander in chief after about 30 years of moving up the ranks within the military institution. He actually joined the army in 1967, following the footsteps of his father who was a member of the Internal Security Forces. "I had always dreamed of becoming an engineer but my family had modest means so I took my father's advice and joined the army," he said. "I don't regret the decision but it wasn't always an easy road."

One of the main events that helped Suleiman gain respect while being at the top of the army was his support for the Resistance until liberating the South in 2000 and confronting the Israeli enemy. His position was also strengthened at the light of the army behavior during the July 2006 war alongside setting a proposal to end the war under which the army was deployed in the south for the first time in decades.

General Suleiman leadership period also witnessed the uncovering of Israeli terrorist and spying networks, like the one that was revealed lately during the 2006 "dawn surprise" operation. Other events that further strengthened Sulaiman's position included the assault against extremist organizations in 2000 as well as its September 2007 victory over "Fat'h al-Islam" at a refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

An affable and soft-spoken man, Suleiman gained respect for remaining neutral towards the different crises that have shaken the country since 2005. He refused to deploy the army to crush demonstrations opposing the authority, saying the army's unity was paramount and that its role was to remain neutral and not enter into the political fray.

"The army is my life, I am attached to it and I would never want to see it divided," he once said.  

World Welcomes Doha Agreement on Lebanon
 
almanar.com, 21/05/2008

Three years on the outbreak of a crisis that seemed to be perpetual, Lebanese leaders were able to reach an agreement that came to crown five days of national dialogue held in the Qatari capital Doha. The agreement was welcomed by different countries.
 
SYRIA BACKS AGREEMENT: STABILITY IN LEBANON IS VITAL
Indeed, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said from the Bahraini capital Manamah that Damascus backs the agreement reached between Lebanese leaders in Qatar. "The agreement will put an end to the political crisis in Lebanon," Moallem said.
"We praise the Arab Committee for its effort and we stress the importance of the agreement. Syria supports everything that the Lebanese agree on because security and stability in Lebanon is vital and important to Syria's security and stability," he added.
 
SAUDI ARABIA SUPPORTS AGREEMENT
For his part, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon Abdul Aziz Khoja said that Riyadh supports the agreement reached between rival leaders. "We are very happy that this accord has been reached," he added.
 
IRAN WELCOMES, PLEASED ABOUT AGREEMENT
Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Rida Shibani also announced his country's support for the Doha agreement.
 
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohamad Ali Hosseini congratulated all Lebanese groups, regional countries and the Arab League, and especially the Qatari government for reaching the agreement.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran hopes that the Doha accord ... will provide a blossoming and brilliant future for the Lebanese people and be the prelude to freeing the rest of Lebanese territory" from Israeli occupation, the ISNA news agency quoted Hosseini as saying.
 
EGYPT URGES 'FAITHFUL' IMPLEMENTATION OF AGREEMENT
For his part, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit hailed Wednesday's deal to end the long-running crisis in Lebanon and called for the accord to be faithfully implemented.
"The agreement ends a complicated crisis which could have destroyed Lebanon's stability had it not been for the wisdom of certain Lebanese politicians and the rapid Arab intervention," he said.
 
US WELCOMES AGREEMENT AS POSITIVE STEP
The United States welcomed Wednesday's accord between Lebanese leaders as a positive step, a
State Department official said.
"That this agreement has been reached in Doha is really a welcome development," David Welch, deputy secretary for Near Eastern affairs, told reporters. "It is a necessary and positive step toward accomplishing what the Arab League's initiative on Lebanon was designed to do," electing a president of Lebanon, forming a new government and revising the electoral law, he said.

FRANCE HAILS AGREEMENT AS GREAT SUCCESS FOR LEBANON
Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the agreement as "a great success for Lebanon and the Lebanese, who have never lacked courage and patience despite the trials they have been been through," calling for it to be "fully implemented."
In a statement, Sarkozy paid tribute to the "decisive role" played by Qatar and Arab League Secretary Genereal Amr Mussa. "France, which has invested much effort in the search for a solution to the Lebanese crisis, never stopped backing the process that led to this agreement," Sarkozy said.
 
Earlier, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner hailed the deal as an "essential step" to returning the Middle East nation to "unity, stability and independence", calling on "all Lebanese" to strive for national reconciliation.
The French minister, who had traveled to Lebanon seven times since taking office last year, said he was "personally very happy about this outcome for which I have worked continuously."
 
GERMANY CALLS FOR SWIFT ELECTION OF LEBANON PRESIDENT
Germany, in its turn, welcomed the agreement and called for the swift election of a new Lebanese president.   Wednesday's accord between Lebanese leaders clears "the way for an end to the political crisis," foreign ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger told a news conference.
"We hope to see quickly the election of (army chief Michel) Suleiman to the post of president and the putting in place of a new government," Jaeger said.
 

 

 

Lebanon leaders clinch deal to end crisis

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

by Ali Khalil

DOHA, May 21, 2008 (AFP) -

Rival Lebanese leaders clinched a deal on Wednesday to end an 18-month political feud that exploded into deadly sectarian fighting this month and nearly drove the country to a new civil war.

The agreement, announced by Qatari Prime Minister, Shaikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani, after days of tense talks in Doha, will see the election of a president for Lebanon within 24 hours.

Lebanese Prime Minister, Fuouad Al-Saniora described the deal with the opposition as a "great achievement in the history of the Arab nation and the history of Lebanon." The two sides have been negotiating since Friday in an Arab-mediated bid to end a political standoff that erupted into deadly street battles earlier this month, the worst sectarian unrest in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war.

"The achievement of Doha: A new page for Lebanon," was the triumphant headline on the pro-opposition Al-Akhbar newspaper.

The deal covers the election of army chief Michel Sleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government and a ban on the use of weapons in any internal conflict.

Immediately after the deal was announced, Lebanon's parliament speaker and opposition stalwart Nabih Berri announced that an 18-month opposition protest that has paralyzed the heart of downtown Beirut would end immediately.

Wednesday's accord was hailed by regional states including Lebanon's former power broker Syria and in Beirut where an opposition protest that has turned the heart of the capital into a virtual ghost-town was finally ending.

The deal covers the election of army chief Michel Sleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government and a ban on the use of weapons in any internal conflict.

"I am very happy with the outcome," a beaming Sleiman told reporters.

Under the terms of the accord, parliament speaker Nabih Berri was to call an parliament to convene within 24 hours for the vote but several Lebanese officials said they believed it would be on Sunday.

"I don't expect the election to take place before this weekend," said Sleiman, 59, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces 10 years ago when Syria still held sway in Lebanon's political affairs.

Lebanese, battered by years of conflict, reacted with relief but were also wary it might be only a temporary reprieve for their deeply divided nation.

"Hopefully this is not a band-aid solution and is a long-lasting one, people need to live in peace," Aleco Assaf, 65, said in Beirut, where Lebanese have been glued to their television sets or radios awaiting news of the deal.

In the Middle East, backers of both Siniora's government and opposition hailed the deal.

"We have proved that the historic Lebanese formula of 'no victor and no vanquished' is the only formula that can lead us to safe shores," said Arab League chief Amr Mussa.

The deal was hailed by Syria, the former power broker in Lebanon which now supports the opposition, and by France, whose Foreign Minister, Bernard Koucher, had made several attempts to resolve the crisis.

The rival factions had agreed last year on electing Sleiman as a successor to former President Emile Lahoud, who stepped down at the end of his term in November, leaving the deeply divided nation without a head of state.

But the government and the opposition had differed over power-sharing in a proposed unity government and a new electoral law and parliament has put off 19 attempts to vote for a new president.

Under Wednesday's deal, the ruling majority will have 16 seats in the cabinet and be able to choose the prime minister.

The opposition will have 11 ministerial posts while another three will be nominated by the elected president, who under Lebanon's multiconfessional system must be a Maronite Christian.

The talks had been on a knife-edge on Tuesday after the opposition refused to put off debating the electoral law and insisted on a "blocking minority" in a unity government.

The proposed changes to the electoral law could prove decisive in determining the outcome of parliamentary due next year. Rival parties aim to secure as many as possible of the capital's 19 seats in the 128-member parliament. The crisis erupted in November 2006 when six ministers quit the Siniora cabinet, and the opposition later launched a tent protest in Beirut.

It degenerated into street battles in early May which saw fighters from Hezbollah and its allies temporarily seize control of large swathes of west Beirut from their rivals.

Disagreements over Hizbullah's large arsenal also proved a stumbling block in the talks, with government representatives insisting that it be on the agenda and the Shiite militant group saying the issue is not up for discussion.

Hizbullah, the most powerful armed group in Lebanon, was the only movement not required to disarm after the civil war, saying their weapons were a means to defend the country against Israel.

Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000 but fought a devastating war against Lebanon and Hizbullah resistance fighters in the summer of 2006.-AFP

http://www.dailystar.com.lb