Sleiman insists reconciling is no obstacle to democracy
President Michel Sleiman urged Lebanese parties on Monday to continue engaging one another, stressing that reconciliation was not at all against the concept of democracy.
"Recent reconciliations as well as the media truce have reflected positively on the political and economic situation in the country," Sleiman was quoted as telling a Cabinet session that was held at the Presidential Palace on Monday morning.
"Reconciliation is not against democracy as it does not cancel political competition … A lot of progress has already been made and there is still more to be done to reconcile rival parties," he added.
Information Minister Tarek Mitri told reporters after the session that Sleiman would be visiting Iran on November 24 and 25. The president will also visit Cairo on Saturday before heading to New York to take part in a United Nations General Assembly meeting on religious and cultural dialogue.
Mitri said that both the president and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora had briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of their recent foreign visits.
Sleiman participated in the 12th Francophone summit in Quebec, Canada, last month before visiting Rome and the Vatican. For his part, Siniora held talks with Kuwaiti and Egyptian officials late in October.
The premier informed the ministers that the head of the Kuwait Fund would visit Beirut soon to activate his country”s support for Lebanon.
Siniora also told the Cabinet that he had signed economic agreements with Egyptian officials, who reiterated their commitment to supply Lebanon with gas and electricity.
Mitri also said that Sleiman had called for more Cabinet sessions, and had urged the ministers to approve a national budget as soon as possible.
Finance Minister Mohammad Shattah briefed the Cabinet on his 2009 draft budget. The draft is likely to be discussed in next week”s session.
Mitri added that the Cabinet has also approved Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud”s upcoming visit to Damascus.
"The interior minister is left to decide who would accompany him to Syria," he added.
Baroud left for Turkey later Monday as he accompanied Siniora on the latter”s first official visit to Ankara. Shattah and Health Minister Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh were also part of the Lebanese delegation.
Siniora was given a welcoming ceremony as he arrived at the airport before meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the government headquarters.
Before meeting with Erdogan, Siniora laid a wreath on the grave of Mustafa Kemal "Ataturk," the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
Siniora wrote a few words in the guest registry next to Ataturk”s grave, stressing what he described as the historic and brotherly relations between the Lebanese and Turkish peoples.
Both premiers later signed bilateral agreements on combating crime and terrorism.
Also Monday, former President Amin Gemayel said the Lebanese people had the right to know what is happening during national dialogue sessions.
He called for live coverage of the dialogue”s second session, which will be held on Wednesday at the Presidential Palace.
The first session was held in mid-September, grouping the 14 politicians who signed the Doha Accord last May.
The session was chaired by Sleiman and attended by Arab League chief Amr Moussa.
The Phalange Party leader said that he was concerned about attempts to change the dialogue”s agenda from agreeing on a national defense strategy to discussing the possibility of adding more participants.
Hizbullah and its allies in the March 8 Forces have repeatedly called for the inclusion of more participants in the national talks, but March 14 politicians have consistently voiced their objection to this demand, which parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri recently dismissed as "aimless."
In a related development, Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun said on Monday that there was a "misrepresentation" of political parties in the national dialogue.
"My initial demand was to decrease the number of participants to correct the imbalance, but broadening participation would also serve the same cause," Aoun said.
The FPM chief added that his upcoming visit to Damascus would be one of "acquaintance."
"I will visit Damascus to get to know Syrian officials … I guess I am the only Lebanese leader who is still unknown to the Syrians," he said.
Asked how he would react if Sleiman decided to support certain candidates in the next parliamentary elections, Aoun said that "any individual has the right to form a list and compete in the elections."
Sleiman said recently that he would like to see the formation of a national bloc in Parliament.
He explained that such bloc would not be "the president”s bloc," but one that would serve national interests.
Separately, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt wrote in his weekly commentary for his party”s Al-Anbaa weekly that he was anxious to see the establishment of the international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Jumblatt praised the Lebanese armed and security forces for their "recent achievements," particularly the arrest of a "terrorist network" which is believed to have been behind recent bombings that struck the northern city of Tripoli.
At least 16 people, including both soldiers and civilians, were killed in the attacks.