Lebanon’s new President, Michel Suleiman, has arrived at the presidential palace to begin his first full day in office. A military band played the national anthem as Suleiman, who headed the army for a decade, walked on a red carpet into the Baabda Palace which has been empty since Previous President Emile Lahoud left office. Army cannons fired 21 shots to salute Suleiman, 59, as a brass band played Lebanon’s national anthem. Dozens of his staff members erupted into applause. After surveying the republican guard and listening to the national anthem, a smiling Sleiman took his seat in the presidential chair. Earlier Monday, Suleiman bid farewell at Beirut’s airport to the emir of Qatar, who brokered a deal among Lebanese politicians last week which led to the election. Parliament had failed to elect a new president 19 times in the past six months. "I call on you all, people and politicians, for a new beginning," Suleiman said after he was sworn in Sunday. "Let us be united." He set to work immediately, scheduling consultations with lawmakers on Wednesday to begin forming a new governent, an official in the president’s office said on condition of anonymity pending a formal statement. Once parliamentary leaders name a new prime minister, that person would then present a Cabinet lineup for the president’s approval. The cabinet then needs to draft a policy statement to present to parliament for a vote of confidence. The majority is expected to choose the prime minister from its ranks. Saniora or majority coalition leader Saad Hariri are among those mentioned in the media as candidates. Siniora said earlier that he did not want to head the next cabinet, but acknowledged that the parliamentary majority had the final say on this issue. Cabinet posts will be distributed according to the Doha agreement: 16 for the majority, 11 for the opposition and three for the president, who heads the cabinet. The group must also respect an equal split between Christians and Muslims, as required under Lebanon’s power-sharing formula.
US President George W. Bush Monday invited incoming Lebanese President Michel Sleiman to Washington for talks after congratulating him on taking office, Bush’s spokesman said. "The president invited President Sleiman to come to Washington so the two leaders can meet to discuss issues of strategic importance to both the United States and Lebanon," said national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe. Bush called Sleiman to congratulate him on becoming president and "reiterated his commitment to the government of Lebanon and to a strong and modern Lebanese Armed Forces. The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak also called President Sleiman to congratulate him and invite him for an official visit. "On the other side of the political divide, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad telephoned Sleiman to congratulate him and had promised that Damascus was "at Lebanon’s side," according to a report on Lebananese television. The President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad telephoned Sleiman to congratulate him and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, also welcomed Sleiman’s election. Syria and Iran back Hezbollah, the Shiite group which spearheads the Lebanese opposition. "All countries in the region, be they Arab or Islamic, are overwhelmed with joy and pride at this glorious and blessed agreement," Mottaki said Sunday. UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he hoped the "historic" vote would lead to the "revitalization of all of Lebanon’s constitutional institutions and a return to political dialogue." The Slovenian presidency of the European Union also welcomed Sleiman’s election and pledged its support for Lebanese "unity and stability." "The Presidency of the EU reaffirms its support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, unity and stability," a statement said. Moscow also welcomed the swearing in of Suleiman, who served as Lebanon’s army chief for the past 10 years. "Moscow sincerely welcomes the election of Lebanon’s president and we hope … that Lebanon will leave behind it this period of crises and blows, [and] find the path to domestic peace and stable democracy," a statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs said. Former colonial power France was more guarded, saying the arrival of Suleiman would constitute a major change in Paris’ relations with Lebanon’s neighbor, Syria. President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged full support for Suleiman and said he hoped the election would allow Lebanon to take a significant step forward and "confront the challenges that await." But Suleiman’s election constitutes a "new act" and "we are in the process of examining the consequences to be drawn from the situation," the spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry, Pascale Andreani, said, when probed by reporters about French-Syrian relations. British Prime minister contacted Sleiman to congratulate him on the new post. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the election was "an important step forward," adding: "We look forward to President Suleiman working with a unity government to bring Lebanon out of its current fragility." German President Horst Koehler said he welcomed "this bold step" toward resolving Lebanon’s political crisis and wished Suleiman "good luck in the big challenges that lie ahead of you." Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his country "stands ready to assist the Lebanese government in any way possible," adding that Suleiman had "tremendous experience and the confidence of the Lebanese people."
In another event on Monday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said his group wasn’t seeking to control Lebanon or impose its views, in a speech Monday marking the eighth anniversary of Israel’s pullout from the south of the country."Hezbollah does not want power over Lebanon, nor does it want to control Lebanon or govern the country," Nasrallah said via video link to tens of thousands of supporters gathered in his stronghold in southern Beirut. "For we believe that Lebanon is a special, pluralistic country. The existence of this country only comes about through coexistence, and this is what we are demanding," said the leader of the militant Shiite group. Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Monday that Lebanese prisoners held in Israel jails would soon return home. "Samir Kantar and his brothers will soon be home among their families," Nasrallah said during a speech to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon on May 2000. Releasing the prisoners is our duty and it is our holy mission," Nasarllah said without providing any further details. A Lebanese official close to the negotiations said earlier that another prisoner, Nessim Nisr, was expected to be released soon. He did not give further details. I reaffirm the Doha agreement clause that prevents the use of arms to attain political goals," Nasrallah said. He has also added, "The resistance’s arms are to fight the enemy, liberate lands and prisoners, and defend Lebanon and nothing else," he pledged, referring to his Shiite group’s enmity with Israel which pulled out of south Lebanon in 2000. Nasrallah also ruled out the state’s weaponry being used to settle domestic accounts. "The government’s arms or those of the army or armed forces are to defend the nation, the people and their rights, the government, and to maintain security," Nasrallah said. "The government’s arms cannot be used to settle accounts with a political opponent. The government’s arms cannot be used to target the resistance and its arms," he added. "All arms must remain in the service of the goal they were created for," Nasrallah said. Nasrallah spoke to a crowd of tens of thousands the day after army chief Michel Sleiman was elected Lebanon’s president, ending a long-running political crisis that left the country without a head of state since late November.
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Newly-elected Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, sits on his chair at the Lebanese Presidential palace, in the suburban hills of Baabda southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 26, 2008. President Michel Suleiman walked into the presidential palace Monday, assuming office and beginning the monumental task of uniting a wounded nation and reconciling its rival political factions. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Newly-elected Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, center, Lebanese Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, and outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, left, give a farewell to Qatar’s emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, not pictured, as he departs from the airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 26, 2008. Military bands and an honor guard salute greeted Suleiman on his first day at work as he begins the monumental task of uniting a wounded nation and reconciling its rival political factions. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)
Newly-elected Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, center, Lebanese Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, center-right, and outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, left, give a farewell to Qatar’s emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, not pictured, as he departs from the airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 26, 2008. Military bands and an honor guard salute greeted Suleiman on his first day at work as he begins the monumental task of uniting a wounded nation and reconciling its rival political factions. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)
AP via Yahoo! News – May 26 3:17 AM
Newly-elected Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, center, Lebanese Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, center-left, and outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, center-right, give a farewell to Qatar’s emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, not pictured, as he departs from the airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 26, 2008. Military bands and an honor guard salute greeted Suleiman on his first day at work as he begins the monumental task of uniting a wounded nation and reconciling its rival political factions. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)
AP via Yahoo! News – May 26 2:59 AM
Newly-elected Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, at his office at the Lebanese Presidential palace, in the suburban hills of Baabda southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 26, 2008. President Michel Suleiman walked into the presidential palace Monday, assuming office and beginning the monumental task of uniting a wounded nation and reconciling its rival political factions. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
AP via Yahoo! News – May 26 3:20 AM
Newly-elected Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, sits on his chair at the Lebanese Presidential palace, in the suburban hills of Baabda southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 26, 2008. President Michel Suleiman walked into the presidential palace Monday, assuming office and beginning the monumental task of uniting a wounded nation and reconciling its rival political factions. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
AP via Yahoo! News – May 26 3:20 AM
Newly-elected Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, reviews the honor guard upon his arrival at the Leabnese Presidential palace, in the suburban hills of Baabda southeast of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, May 26, 2008. President Michel Suleiman walked into the presidential palace Monday, assuming office and beginning the monumental task of uniting a wounded nation and reconciling its rival political factions. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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