Hizbullah Absent from Reconciliation Ceremony in Shweifat
Hizbullah did not attend a reconciliation ceremony in Shweifat, contrary to what has been expected.
Pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper on Monday said Hizbullah”s absence was due to "changes introduced to the reconciliation program" that took place on Sunday between Druze rivals Walid Jumblat and Talal Arslan.
While the "reconciliation program" was supposed to cover Beirut”s southern suburbs, the ceremony was restricted to the Druze town of Shweifat east of Beirut.
Asharq radio station on Monday quoted a PSP source as saying that Hizbullah officials failed to attend the ceremony "because the atmosphere was not yet ripe."
The Shweifat reconciliation took place between the family of slain Druze citizen Akram Arbid and the Progressive Socialist Party.
Arbid, an Arslan supporter, was beaten by PSP members while he was accompanying a candidate in the 1996 parliamentary elections.
Jumblat, who sponsored the reconciliation, showed desire for a "greater reconciliation."
"Today we put emphasis on the major Beirut-Shweifat-Dahiyeh-Mountains reconciliation," he stressed.