by daily star.com.lb SWEIMEH,
Jordan/BEIRUT: Bearing a message of peace to the Arab Summit, President
Michel Aoun Wednesday called for cooperation and reconciliation across
the Arab world, a process he said Lebanon could be an intrinsic part of. “The
Arab League, which is the institution that unifies the Arabs, must
regain its role and mission in virtue of the principles, objectives and
spirit of its charter in order to preserve its member states and to save
its people, its sovereignty, its independence and its wealth,” Aoun
said in his speech to the summit.

“Its pressing role today is to
take the reins of an efficient initiative that is likely to influence
the course of events, put an end to the bloodshed and extinguish the
raging fire.” The president also highlighted Lebanon’s assistance
to refugees, but reiterated the detrimental consequences of the presence
of such a large number of Syrian refugees. “Alleviating the
misery of the displaced, saving them from the hardship of their forced
emigration, and sparing Lebanon the socio-economic, security and
political fallout of the constant increase in numbers, will only be
achieved by their safe return to their homes,” he said. The Arab
Summit was a resounding success, and the Arab League had a substantial
role to play in this achievement, sources who participated in the
conference told The Daily Star. Jordan welcomed 18 heads of state to the
shores of the Dead Sea, a large turnout rarely witnessed at Arab
Summits.

Aoun, 82, gave his speech after suffering what looked to
be a particularly nasty fall as he arrived at the summit. Video footage
showed the president’s tumble, which quickly went viral on social media. A statement was issued by the president’s office saying Aoun was in good health and would proceed at the conference.

Aoun
was accompanied by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Foreign Minister Gebran
Bassil and Economy Minister Raed Khoury as part of the Lebanese
delegation. A member of the delegation told The Daily Star that
Lebanon’s foremost achievement was its ability to offer a united front,
exemplified by the amicable relationship between Aoun and Hariri,
despite a failed attempt at undermining this unity by some of Lebanon’s
previous leaders on the eve of the summit.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres’ speech at the summit, during which he focused on making
Beirut a center of civilizations and culture, was met with positivity by
Arab leaders who welcomed the idea.

Before his speech, Aoun met
with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud. Following the speeches by
heads of state, Hariri accompanied the Saudi Arabian monarch to Riyadh
on the royal aircraft. The move dispelled previous allegations that
Hariri’s once close relationship with Saudi Arabia had soured in recent
years.

A noteworthy aspect of the summit was that no state took a
stance on Hezbollah, an issue the subject of intense debate during last
year’s conference.

The Lebanese seem rarely capable of providing a
unified stance. A letter penned by former Lebanese leaders – former
presidents Michel Sleiman and Amine Gemayel, as well as former prime
ministers Fouad Siniora, Tammam Salam and Najib Mikati – to the summit
decrying nonstate arms was seen as an attempt to undermine Lebanon’s
official position.

The three-page letter addressed of five issues:
adherence to the Taif Accord; compliance with international
obligations, including U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701; the
proliferation of illegal arms in Lebanon; the Baabda Declaration; and
means to prevent interference in the Syrian crisis – a jab at Hezbollah.

Any
damage that could have resulted from the letter was avoided. It later
became know that the letter had been sent only to King Abdullah of
Jordan, and not the Arab League. King Abdullah did not bring up the
matter, and the only letters discussed during the summit were documents
sent by the French and Russian presidents.

The decisions of the summit also represented a resounding success on Jordan’s part, sources said.

Rumors
claiming that Aoun’s relationship with Gulf states had been tarnished
following his pro-Hezbollah stance ahead of a visit to Egypt last month
were also dismissed after the president met with the rulers of Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Speaker Nabih Berri condemned the
letter Tuesday. “What are the positives in making Lebanon look like
this?” Berri said. “It’s an unfavorable and unprecedented move. It’s
unacceptable,” Al-Akhbar newspaper reported the speaker as saying. Berri
also claimed that the letter’s objective was to “discredit” Aoun.

Interior
Minister Nouhad Machnouk also condemned the document. Speaking on the
sidelines of a security conference in the UAE’s Abu Dhabi, he described
the statement as a “national sin,” the state-run National News Agency
reported. “No one sends a document to the Arab Summit over a Lebanese
dispute, and no one should try to outdo us when it comes to Arabism or
the [rejection] of Hezbollah’s arms, nor of Iranian policy,” the Future
Movement-affiliated minister said. “Whoever transgresses geographical
borders, transgresses limits in politics.”

The letter was also met with widespread condemnation by the Cabinet Tuesday, a local daily Al-Liwa reported Wednesday.

During
the Cabinet session chaired by Aoun in Baabda to discuss the
electricity reform plan, Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil was first to
bring up the subject, claiming it weakened Lebanon’s united position at
the Arab Summit. Speaking to Al-Liwa, Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar accused the
five former officials of supporting a foreign agenda, describing them
as a “malicious package of five small slaves.”

Siniora has since defended the letter.

“The
letter is to boost Lebanon’s position and is aimed at pointing out that
there are viewpoints that reject the silence on illegitimate arms,” he
told a local TV station. He denied that the letter aimed to discredit
Aoun’s term as president.

Separately, Berri also commented on the
ongoing electoral law saga, which has preoccupied politicians since the
formation of the Cabinet late last year.

He stressed that there
needs to be a clear distinction between a “technical” delay and any
other delay in the upcoming Parliamentary elections, local daily
Al-Joumhouria reported.

“I do not support a parliamentary
extension, period,” Berri said while receiving visitors at his Ain
al-Tineh residence. “But when it comes to a technical delay, I will
support it if it’s the only way.”