The Daily Star, Lebanon
May 3 2008

Visiting Moussa holds out hope for new talks with Berri, Hariri

Would-be interlocutors bicker over reason to meet
By Hussein Abdallah
Daily Star staff
Saturday, May 03, 2008

BEIRUT: Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said after meeting
Speaker Nabih Berrion Friday that a meeting between himself, Berri and
parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri was possible.

Moussa, who arrived in Beirut on Thursday to participate in the Arab
Economic Forum, did not specify when such meeting will take place.

He said that all parties were looking forward to achieve a
breakthrough and end the ongoing political crisis.

"Nobody is against dialogue. It is illogical to reject dialogue, but
it is very important for us to see a sort of a road map that starts
with dialogue and ends with the election of a new president," he said.

Moussa denied discussing new ideas with the rival leaders and stressed
that the only initiative on the table was the Arab League’s
three-point initiative.

Speaking at the Arab Economic Forum, Moussa urged lawmakers to elect a
new president as soon as possible.

"The persisting vacancy in the presidency is a very serious issue,"
Moussa said

Meanwhile, sources close to Berri told The Daily Star on Friday that
Hariri’s insistence that dialogue be in the form of talks between the
two of them was the main reason behind him not meeting the speaker
until now.

"Had Hariri wanted to simply meet Berri, the meeting would have
happened in the past few days, but Hariri wants to hold bilateral
talks while the speaker has repeatedly stressed that his call for
dialogue was aimed at holding all-party roundtable talks," the sources
said.

But MP Ammar Houri of Hariri’s Future Movement told The Daily Star on
Friday that Hariri has requested to see Berri and brief him about the
ruling coalition’s position on his dialogue call.

"Hariri is still waiting for Berri’s response. Speaking about Hariri’s
intentions is equivalent to fortune-telling," Houri said.

Also on Friday, Berri met with visiting Qatari Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah al-Attiyah. After the meeting, Attiyah told reporters that
the speaker’s dialogue call was positive, hoping that the rival
leaders would meet soon to resolve the country’s crisis.

Later on Friday, Attiyah met Hariri and discussed with him the latest
developments.

"I wish that Lebanese parties would understand that the country is
passing through a critical period," the Qatari said after meeting
Hariri. "All parties are required to do their best in order to end the
crisis."

However, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit seemed less
optimistic about the chances of achieving a breakthrough soon.

He told BBC television on Friday that progress was unlikely in the
near future.

He urged Syria to push for a settlement in Lebanon while reiterating
Egypt’s readiness to do all that is needed to end the political
impasse.

Meanwhile, MP Michel Murr said after meeting US Charge d’Affaires
Michel Sison on Friday that the US was backing a settlement in
Lebanon.

"The US encourages dialogue between the Lebanese and is not imposing
conditions on us," Murr said.

He also urged opposition MPs to head to Parliament and elect a
president.

"It seems that you are happy with leaving the president’s privileges
in the hand of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s government," Murr said,
addressing the opposition. "If you are not happy with Siniora, the
next thing you should do is elect a president."

The Metn lawmaker, who recently separated from Free Patriotic Movement
leader MP Michel Aoun’s parliamentary bloc, said that there should be
no obstacles to electing a president on May 13.

Murr also met Moussa on Friday. Speaking to reporters afterward,
Moussa reiterated that a meeting between Berri and Hariri was very
likely.

The Parliament is scheduled to meet on May 13 to elect a new head of
state.

Eighteen earlier elections sessions were postponed, leaving the
country without a president since last November.

Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad said after meeting US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington on Friday that a new
Lebanese president should be unconditionally elected on May 13.

"No conditions whatsoever should be attached to the presidential
election," she said. "We are ready to engage in dialogue after and not
before electing a president," she added.

Also on Friday, the Armenian Tashnag Party issued a statement
welcoming Berri’s call for dialogue to help resolve the political
crisis. The statement stressed that the electoral alliance between the
party and Aoun has changed to become a full-fledged political
alliance.

The statement added that the party’s electoral alliance with Murr will
continue despite Murr’s recent separation from Aoun’s parliamentary
bloc. Aoun’s Reform and Change bloc also includes Tashnag.

Late on Thursday, former President Amin Gemayel commented on Berri’s
call for dialogue, stressing that the ruling majority was not against
dialogue given that the proposed talks yield a mechanism for electing
a new president.

In an interview with Al-Arabiyyah satellite news channel, Gemayel
accused the opposition of not wanting to elect the commander of the
Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman, as president.

"In the very beginning, opposition leaders were the first to propose
electing Suleiman as president, but when the March 14 Forces decided
to back the election of Suleiman, the opposition started creating
obstacles to prevent the election," Gemayel said.