Lebanon talks under way in Qatar

Source: AlJazeera.net


Lebanon's political leaders have agreed to form a committee to discuss the country's electoral law, as part of ongoing crisis talks in Qatar.

The agreement on Saturday to form a four-member panel to look at the electoral law follows a deal brokered by the Arab League to end the worst internal fighting in Lebanon since the 1975-90 civil war.

Fouad Siniora, Lebanon's prime minister, and Saad al-Hariri, leader of the majority in parliament, are among those from the government present at the talks.

The latest developments coincide with a visit to the region by George Bush, the US president, who has accused Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian allies of setting out to destablise the country.

Plea for agreement
Both sides of Lebanon's political divide are discussing several issues at the meeting, which opened on Friday.

They are examining the make-up of a national unity government, especially the opposition's demand that all sides have the power to veto decisions.

Also, all sides must agree on a new election law before next year's parlimentary vote in June.
The presidency will go to General Michel Suleiman, Lebanon's army commander, if they resolve issues around the unity government and electoral law.

Finally, the leaders will discuss weapons held by Lebanese armed groups, which could prove to be the thorniest issue of all, given that Hezbollah has consistently refused to disarm.
Issues at stake

The make-up of a national unity government, particularly a demand by the opposition that all sides have the power to veto decisions

The formation of a new electoral law
Lebanon's presidency will go to General Michel Suleiman, Lebanon's army commander, if the above issues are resolved

Weapons held by Lebanese armed groups, particularly Hezbollah, will be discussed
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin reported that there was a lot of hope that the talks would yield positive results.

"People have a lot of hope that it will work. However, they know that the issues are real. The political factions that are here have different interests, different concerns and have different visions for Lebanon," she said.

"It is not an easy job to bring them all together and to get them agree in a short time as well."Only a week ago, these leaders were talking to each other through the guns and there were bloody clashes between their supporters on the streets.

"However, there seems to be a will, not only among the Lebanese factions but also from the regional Arab countries and Iran, that this crisis has to be contained and an end to the violence has to be put."

Arab League plan
A six-point plan was approved on Thursday under the mediation of an Arab League delegation headed by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who is both Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister.

Under the deal, the rivals undertook to launch a dialogue "to shore up the authority of the Lebanese state throughout the country", to refrain from using weapons to further political aims, and to remove fighters from the streets.

It also called for the rivals to refrain from using language that could incite violence, as well as the removal of roadblocks that have prevented access to Beirut airport and other parts of the country.

Shortly after the six-point plan was announced, the opposition cleared a series of roadblocks leading to Beirut airport.

Air traffic came in to land at the airport shortly afterwards.
The Arab League intervention was prompted by the worst sectarian violence since the 1975-1990 civil war, marked by the takeover by opposition fighters from Hezbollah and its allies such as the Amal of large swaths of west Beirut.

Hopes of a settlement between the majority and the oppositon were raised on Wednesday after Siniora's government cancelled two measures against Hezbollah that were seen as the trigger for the latest unrest.

The cabinet rescinded plans to investigate a private Hezbollah phone network and reassign the head of airport security over allegations that he is close to Hezbollah.
Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah chief, had branded those moves a declaration of war.
Parliament in Beirut is scheduled to convene on June 10 for its 20th attempt to elect a president.

Both sides agree on General Michel Suleiman, the army chief, as the new president, but they remain divided over the details of a proposed unity government and a new law for parliamentary elections due next year.

Six opposition ministers quit the Siniora cabinet in November 2006, sparking the current political crisis.

Lebanon cabinet cancels crackdown

Source: AlJazzera.net

Lebanon's cabinet has endorsed a decision to revoke two measures that cracked down on Hezbollah and sparked fierce gun battles in Beirut last week.

The violence was sparked when the government issued an order to dismantle Hezbollah's communications system and to sack the head of airport security.

Wednesday's decision appeared to be a major victory for Hezbollah and seconds after the announcement, celebratory gunfire erupted south of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Pro-government and opposition factions had reached a deal to revoke the two decisions after an Arab League delegation met both sides in Beirut on Wednesday.

The cabinet said it endorsed the deal to respect the League's mediation efforts to end Lebanon's 18-month-old political crisis.

Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the streets of Beirut, said the immediate crisis appeared to be over, with the opposition saying it would lift roadblocks, particularly on the crucial road to the airport.

It has also pledged to end its civil disobedience.


Shifting power balance

But he said Wednesday's climbdown by the government also indicated that the balance of power in Lebanon had shifted.

The opposition had showed its military strength and that would not soon be forgotten.

Hezbollah and its allies last week routed government supporters and briefly seized control of large parts of Beirut, before handing them over to the army.

The Lebanese army continued to patrol throughout the country on Wednesday with orders to use force to restore security if necessary, security officials said.

A decision by the government to ban Hezbollah's private communications network and a move to fire Beirut airport's security chief, who is close to the group, sparked the violence last week, the worst in Lebanon since the 1975-90 civil war.

Six days of fighting left at least 65 people dead and about 200 people wounded.

Opposition fighters pulled back after the army reversed the government decisions.


US pressure

Senior US security officials said Washington plans to intensify its pressure on Syria and Iran over their alleged support for Hezbollah's moves against the Lebanese government.

George Bush, the US president, who arrived in Israel on Wednesday, warned Iran and Syria on the eve of his trip that world powers would not allow Lebanon to fall under foreign domination and vowed to shore up the Lebanese military.

Washington also said it was expecting the UN Security Council to take action next week over the unrest.

Update May 14th - Government Pulls Back

* Lebanese Government officially withdrew its last two decisions
Things should start to calm down through the coming few days,

A comment from swissinfo on the scenario in place:

"Rescinding a ban on Hezbollah's communications network and the sacking of Beirut airport's security chief, who is close to the group, is one of Hezbollah's demands to lift its blockade of the airport and its campaign of civil disobedience.

It would also be a first step towards easing a broader 18-month-long standoff between Siniora's government and opposition forces that has left Lebanon without a president since November."

It is expected that existing blockade on main roads and junction will pull back in the coming few hours.

Lebanon set to cancel anti-Hezbollah measures

Source: www.swissinfo.ch

By Yara Bayoumy

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's cabinet is likely to cancel measures on Wednesday that angered the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement and triggered the worst internal conflict since the country's civil war, political sources said.

"You can say it's a done deal, but we're waiting for the cabinet meeting," one political source said shortly before Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who is supported by the United States, convened his ministers for talks at 4:30 p.m. British time.

Other political sources said later the cabinet was also debating the timing of any announcement of the cancellations.

Rescinding a ban on Hezbollah's communications network and the sacking of Beirut airport's security chief, who is close to the group, is one of Hezbollah's demands to lift its blockade of the airport and its campaign of civil disobedience.

It would also be a first step towards easing a broader 18-month-long standoff between Siniora's government and opposition forces that has left Lebanon without a president since November.

At least 81 people have been killed since violence broke out on May 7 following the cabinet decisions against Hezbollah, which routed its rivals in six days of fighting and briefly seized control of parts of Beirut.

U.S. President George W. Bush, in Jerusalem to celebrate the anniversary of Israel's founding in 1948, accused Iran on Wednesday of using the Islamist Shi'ite Hezbollah to destabilise Lebanon. He said: "This is an Iranian effort to destabilise their young democracy."

He said the United States stood by Lebanon, a parliamentary democracy since independence from France in 1943.

The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday Washington plans to speed up assistance to the Lebanese army and reported consultations were ongoing with U.N. Security Council members over how to tackle the crisis.

"At this point, it is not entirely clear what kind of action might come out of those discussions but certainly it is important for the Council to be able to speak strongly on this issue," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said in Washington.

"This is something that is of great concern to many Council members and we will be working closely to see what we can come up with," he added, without giving further details.

Iran has rejected accusations from Washington that it is meddling in Lebanon and has blamed the violence on the United States and Israel. "Iran is the only country not interfering in Lebanon," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday.

ARAB MEDIATORS

Siniora earlier met a high-level Arab League mission which is trying to mediate a solution to Lebanon's standoff.

The delegation, which includes eight Arab foreign ministers, was led by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani and Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

Lebanon has been largely calm for two days and Hezbollah activists removed some roadblocks on the airport road on Wednesday to give the Arab mediators passage to the city.

In what they described as a reciprocal move, pro-government Sunni forces partially lifted their border blockade on the main road link between Beirut and Damascus.

Syria, which backs the Hezbollah-led opposition, threw its weight behind the mediation effort on Wednesday. A foreign ministry statement in Damascus urged all Lebanese parties to cooperate constructively with its proposals.

If it succeeds in easing tension, the delegation is expected to invite the rival leaders to Qatar for talks aimed at resolving their protracted political conflict.

The broader political dispute revolves around how to share power in cabinet and a new parliamentary election law.

Another political source, speaking before the talks, said the pro-government leaders wanted guarantees Hezbollah would pull out of the streets and vow not to use its guns against its foes before any dialogue.

The recent fighting raised concerns Lebanon was edging towards wider civil strife among Druze and Sunni supporters of the governing coalition and Shi'ites who back Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia, a backer of the governing coalition, has said Hezbollah's actions, if backed by Iran, could threaten Tehran's ties with Arab states. Iran has blamed the United States for the violence in Lebanon.

(Additional reporting by Laila Bassam and Tom Perry, Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Stephen Weeks)

Update May 14th

Mobility MAP Update May 14th.
(Click on Map for further details)


* The Arab League Committee Meets with different Lebanese Leaders
* Army Troops are spread all over tripoli, and the general situation is calm
* Schools in Tripoli are still closed
* the Road to Syria through Masnaa has been partially opened by the Army
* The road to the Airport has been exceptionally opened to let the Arab League committee Pass
* Al Jazzera and different local press are saying that an agreement between Opposition and Loyalists to cancel the latest government decisions have been reached
* No signs or reports on clashes in all lebanese areas
* the General Situation still recommends caution

Arab mediators hold Lebanon talks

Source: AlJazeera.net

An Arab League delegation is mediating between opposing factions in Lebanon which have brought the country close to civil war.

Delegation members opened talks in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, on Wednesday to try to defuse tensions between Lebanon's US-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition.

"The Arab League mission opens a window for a solution," a senior Lebanese political source said.

Lebanon's Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is close to the opposition, called the mission the "last chance for compromise or chaos".

Hezbollah and its allies last week routed government supporters and briefly seized control of large parts of Beirut, before handing them over to the army.

The Lebanese army continued to patrol throughout the country on Wednesday with orders to use force to restore security if necessary, security officials said.

Rula Amin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Beirut, reported earlier that opposition bulldozers had partially opened the road to the airport to allow the delegation through.

"There is some optimism that their visit will bring a literal end to this crisis," she said.

"A deal had been finalised and what we are waiting for now is for the government to meet today and revoke their decisions and when they do that the opposition is going to fully open the road to the airport."

Arab mediation

The Arab League delegation will be led by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, the Qatari foreign minister, and Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League.

Top of the agenda will be efforts to end anti-government protests by Hezbollah supporters and their allies that has led to the shutdown of a number of major roads in Lebanon, including the highway to the airport.

No commercial flights have been scheduled from the country's only international airport for the seventh straight day, an airport official said.

Sources said that if the delegation succeeds in easing tensions, the rival leaders will be invited to Qatar for talks aimed at resolving Lebanon's protracted political conflict.

But Alastair Crooke, director of the Conflicts Fourm think tank, told Al Jazeera there were reasons to be sceptical of how much the Arab League delegation could accomplish.

"I don't think we should expect too much from the Arab League. They were very divided in their meeting in Cairo when they decided to send a delegation," he told Al Jazeera.

"And there are deep divisions over who to hold responsible."

Street battles

A decision by the government to ban Hezbollah's private communications network and a move to fire Beirut airport's security chief, who is close to the group, sparked the violence last week, the worst in Lebanon since the 1975-90 civil war.

Six days of fighting left at least 65 people dead and around 200 people wounded.

Opposition fighters pulled back after the army reversed the government decisions.

Senior US security officials said Washington plans to intensify its pressure on Syria and Iran over their alleged support for Hezbollah's moves against the Lebanese government.

George Bush, the US president, who arrived in Israel on Wednesday, warned Iran and Syria on the eve of his trip that world powers would not allow Lebanon to fall under foreign domination and vowed to shore up the Lebanese military.

Washington also said it was expecting the UN Security Council to take action next week over the unrest.

May 13th Update

* Sanioura: "We admit that the last government decisions were taken based on a bad advice"
* Berri: "The Civil Disobdience will stop once the dialogue starts"
* Airport Road is open to let the Arab League Delegation Pass through
* Assafir Local Newspapaer: "A settlment is being drafted between the opposition and the Governement, the settlment is based on two phases, the first phase starts with the government cancelling the decisions they took concerning Chkeir and the Communication Network of the Resistance, In return the Opposition will set things back as they were before the 7th of May, the Next Phase is by starting the dialogue between conflicting parties"
* Situation in most of the country is calm and cautious


****

* The army command decided that all armed groups must withdraw starting from 6:00 Am Today
* Heavy Shooting heard around the kuwaiti Embassy
* Situation is calm and cautious in Khaldeh and Shouweifat
* Cuatious Calm in Tripoli and the cease fire is still holding on
* The Arab League Committee arrives to beirut at 9:00 pm tonight
* Heavy Shooting around beirut during Hariri's Speech on TV