Tuesday,April 03,2007

BEIRUT, April 2(Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Syria on Monday to play a positive role in Lebanon and to cooperate with international efforts to put the suspected killers of Lebanese ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri on trial.

Merkel, on a one-day visit to Lebanon at the end of a Middle East tour, pledged more support to Lebanese security forces and the establishment of a U.N.-backed court to try suspects in the assassination of Hariri and other political attacks.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

 BEIRUT: Former President Amin Gemayel said on Monday that it was becoming increasingly likely that an international tribunal to try suspects into the murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri would be formed under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which would allow the tribunal to go forward even without the endorsement of the Lebanese government.

"Syria’s vows that it will not cooperate with the international tribunal mean that it is more than likely that it will be formed under Chapter 7, because otherwise suspects in the Hariri murder cannot be extradited," Gemayel said.

Monday, April 02, 2007

BZUMMAR: Lebanese Forces (LF) leader   Samir Geagea said on Sunday that the only solution to Lebanon’s political crisis was to elect a new president and disarm all militias. "The position of president has been vacant and totally inefficient for the past 15 years and some armed groups in Lebanon have extensive external connections and were militarily a lot more powerful than the government, which is totally unacceptable," Geagea told a delegation of Casino du Liban employees who came to visit him at his residence in Bzummar.

Monday,April 02,2007

Free Patriotic Movement Leader Michael Aoun has said the forthcoming Presidential elections in Lebanon will not be held according to the constitutional schedule.
Aoun made the remark in an interview screened Saturday evening by the NBN television network, an outlet advocating the Hizbullah-led opposition.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

  BEIRUT: Hizbollah’s number two said on Friday that the resistance group welcomes the presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) "as long as it abides by its missions and does not overstep its jurisdiction." In an interview with Sawt Ash-Shaab radio station, Sheikh Naim Quassem said that the presence of UNIFIL troops in South Lebanon "is welcome – provided that the peacekeeping force supports the Lebanese Army in preventing any armed presence and preventing Israel from attacking the South."

"Hizbullah does not have any problem with UNIFIL… [and] the relation remains positive," Qassem said.

Friday,March 30,2007

 JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Thursday there was a "revolutionary change" in the perception of Arab states toward Israel, Israeli media reported.

"There is a process here that the fighting in Lebanon (last year) has sharpened," Olmert was quoted as saying during a reception for his Kadima party.

Friday, March 30, 2007

RIYADH: The Arab League summit in Riyadh failed to initiate any sort of Arab initiative – Saudi or otherwise – to help Lebanon solve its four-month-old political deadlock. Most speeches from various Arab leaders during the second and final day of talks overlooked the Lebanese crisis, with only Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah urging Arab leaders to work on solving the deadlock and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh warning that Lebanese divisions "could have negative repercussions on the country."

BEIRUT (AFP) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Beirut on Thursday and immediately called for dialogue and compromise to end Lebanon’s most serious crisis since the end of the civil war in 1990.

The UN chief, currently on his first official tour of the Middle East, will hold talks on Friday with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, officials said.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

RIYADH/BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Wednesday denied that the Arab summit would resolve Lebanon’s political crisis, but said that efforts by Saudi Arabia to push the Lebanese toward a compromise would continue. President Emile Lahoud, who is heading one Lebanese delegation to the summit while Siniora heads another, said on Wednesday that the summit should push for "unity among the Lebanese."

Lahoud was seated in the chair for the official representative of Lebanon on Wednesday, while Siniora was placed in an area allocated for senior guests.