Suleiman Invites Moussa to Opening Session of National Dialogue
President Michel Suleiman has invited Arab League chief Amr Moussa to the national dialogue conference that will kick off at Baabda Palace on Sept. 16, An Nahar daily reported Thursday.
It said Suleiman called Moussa to invite him to the opening of the talks next Tuesday as stipulated by the Doha Accord reached among bickering politicians last May.
As Safir daily said that Suleiman, starting Thursday, will meet with the team preparing for the dialogue to study logistics and ways to send invitations to the 14 leaders who will take part in the talks.
Suleiman”s call for the national dialogue had triggered a wave of positive responses from across the political spectrum. However, it was not clear how the assassination of a ranking official from Druze leader Talal Arslan”s Lebanese Democratic Party will affect the Sept. 16 talks.
Saleh al-Aridi was killed in a car bomb explosion on Wednesday in Baisour.
Meanwhile, President Michel Suleiman has assured the Lebanese that their country”s situation is much better than before and urged rival camps not to use him as a weapon in their bickering.
"Rest assured that Lebanon will be better off as long as this (presidential) palace is on the move. I promise you that we will not rest and we will not surrender," Suleiman told al-Mustaqbal daily in remarks published Thursday.
When asked about the situation in Lebanon, Suleiman said: "Better. But much less than what is hoped for."
The president said he is putting every effort to make his country a safer place to live and to bring stability, freedom and sovereignty to Lebanon.
Addressing the March 14 and March 8 forces, Suleiman said: "I want to do what is best for Lebanon. That”s why don”t use me as a weapon in your bickering."
Suleiman expressed satisfaction with the wave of positive reactions from across the political spectrum to his invitation for the first session of national dialogue on Sept. 16.
He said he chose next Tuesday as the opening session because he wants to travel to New York "strong" and prove that "Lebanon is a nation that deserves to live because it has institutions capable of implementing agreements."
Suleiman will head this month to New York for the General Assembly session of the United Nations.
He described Army Chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji and Brig. Edmond Fadel, director of military intelligence, as being from the elite of Lebanese officers.
About Qahwaji”s appointment amid reservations by five ministers, Suleiman said: I told Premier Fouad Saniora during the cabinet session "let me remind you that this is the first time that the Lebanese are appointing an army commander. I and the one before me weren”t appointed by a Lebanese decision. We were chosen from the outside and the cabinet agreed with consensus. It is not wrong if the image is different now. The Lebanese are now choosing the army chief and there is no unanimity."