Syria dictating Hezbollah’s conditions in Lebanon

Beirut – Lebanese Parliamentarian Wael Abu
Faour disclosed the conditions dictated by Syria for Hezbollah to
settle on their ongoing campaign to overthrow the democratically
elected government.

Abu
Faour said Wednesday that Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani has relayed
to Arab mediators five Syrian conditions that prevent any settlement to
the ongoing Crisis in Lebanon.

The conditions set by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime,
according to Abu Faour, are: the formation of a new 30-seat government
in which the Hizbullah-led opposition controls 11 seats, allowing it to
veto decisions.

The Syrian conditions also include the adoption of a new elections
law in three months, early parliamentary elections in six months,
rejection of early presidential elections, and rejection of any attempt
to form an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005
assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes prior to
completion of the international investigation in these atrocities.

The latest discovery compounds the overwhelming evidence that Syria
is intertwined with Hezbollah’s actions in Lebanon, further
contradicting the Hezbollah leader’s calls for no foreign intervention
in Lebanon.

Abu Faour, a Druze member of Walid Jumblat’s Progressive Socialist
Party, said Larijani relayed the five Syrian conditions to “Arab and
regional circles” mediating a settlement to the Lebanese crisis.

He was apparently referring to Saudi officials who have been meeting Iranian envoys trying to mediate in the Lebanese crisis.

Abu Faour stressed that such Syrian conditions “burn all bridges leading to détente.”

“As long as some Lebanese political factions are tied up to the
Syrian regime, there is no chance at all of reaching a solution,” he
added.

Abu Faour’s PSP is a member of the March 14 majority alliance that
backs Premier Fouad Saniora’s government, which the Hizbullah-led
opposition is trying in vain to topple since Dec. 1.

Sources: Ya Libnan, Naharnet

Military prosecutors begin questioning of suspects in deadly Beirut riots

BEIRUT:
The Lebanese Army and Military Police referred 25 persons arrested
during clashes at the Beirut Arab University last week to the Military
Court on Wednesday. The clashes, between opposition supporters and
government loyalists, left four people dead and over 150 wounded in the
Beirut neighborhood of Tariq al-Jdideh.

Judicial
sources told The Daily Star the 25 persons were arrested for weapons
possession, throwing rocks, using sharp tools and attacking private
property.

Lebanon:revitalized Arab initiative.

Reports of a revitalized Arab initiative and dialogue between Riyadh and Tehran, coupled with a general toning down of political speeches, has raised hopes for a possible solution to the crisis in Lebanon. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and government loyalists have welcomed a recent call for calm and a return to dialogue from Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Lebanon:Conditions are right for Moussa to get Lebanon’s leaders to start leading

 

Some of
the necessary ingredients for a compromise to end the standoff in
Beirut are now present, and not a moment too soon. After weeks of
stubbornness in both government and opposition circles, both sides seem
to be realizing that the current situation demands something more than
mindlessly repeating the same maximalist mantras. The trust necessary
for a comprehensive deal is not yet in place, but rumblings from some
of the key players indicate at least that the antagonists are now
speaking the same language.

Nasrallah calls for liberating Lebanon’s Shebaa farms

Beirut- Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah on Tuesday called for the formation of a multi-faction
“national resistance” movement to liberate the Israeli-occupied Shebaa
Farms.

In an address marking the Ashoura Anniversary, Nasrallah told the
crowd: “I call for the creation of a national resistance to liberate
the Shebaa farms. …whoever was prevented by us from liberating Shebaa
Farms should step forward to liberate and we’ll be with him.”