Lebanon's Pro-Syrian Government Resigns

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Syrian-backed Prime Minister Omar Karami, under popular pressure after the assassination of an ex-prime minister, said on Monday his government was resigning. "Out of concern that the government does not become an obstacle to the good of the country, I announce the resignation of the government I had the honor to lead," Karami told parliament in Beirut.

The government came under fire in parliament on Monday over the assassination of Rafik al-Hariri in a huge bomb two weeks ago, while streets away thousands defied a protest ban to demand it stand down.

The debate had been expected to close with a no-confidence vote in the government, but after a lunch break Karami took the podium to announce the resignation of the government.

His speech was met by applause from opposition deputies who had seized upon public fury over the killing to demand the resignation and call on Syria to withdraw its troops from its tiny neighbor.

Mon Feb 28, 2005 12:14 PM ET

Opposition Slaps Karami for Doubting Army's Ability to Fill Syrian Vacuum

NaharNet

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has demanded from Syria a complete military withdrawal from Lebanon before April, dismissing an imminent redeployment operation announced by the Assad regime that would reportedly leave only 2,000 troops stationed indefinitely in the Bekaa Valley. Annan set his first purported deadline for Syria's exit in an interview recorded by Al Arabiya network, excerpts of which were aired Thursday evening. The station said it planned to broadcast the full text Friday. But Annan has denied in New York that he had set any specific deadline for the Syrian withdrawal. The controversy over Annan's quotes followed a flurry of statements by Lebanon's Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Murad and Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Moallem in Beirut and Damascus Thursday on an imminent redeployment operation to begin within hours. Murad said the pullback will be staged from the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest after Beirut, and from the central mountain ridge overlooking the capital in the Aley district to east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Murad did not elaborate beyond asserting that the imminent redeployment, the sixth in three years, would not involve Syria's intelligence services, although President Bush had insisted in his latest dose of pressure on the Assad regime that the withdrawal be inclusive of Syria's "secret services." Moallem said Syria's stage-by-stage pullout was designed to give the Lebanese army and security departments enough time to take over the vacated areas and avoid a security vacuum that could reignite the civil war. He said the "provocative stance" by Lebanon's opposition toward Syria would reflect adversely on the whole of Lebanon. Premier Karami has chime in, stunning the nation by televised remarks in which he bluntly said the Lebanese army was not ready yet to fill the vacuum if Syria withdrew its army and intelligence apparatus in one-go. Karami said the army, faced by a Syrian withdrawal in one sweep, might collapse along the same sectarian lines that triggered off the 1975-1990 civil war. His remarks, along with Moallem's threats, have infuriated the opposition, whose spokesmen ridiculed a Lebanese government inventing alibis to exonerate Syria from guilt in ex-Premier Hariri's assassination. Hariri's blood, the spokesmen asserted, had introduced a sterling Christian-Muslim unity that abolished any concept of renewed civil warfare.

 

Business Joins Opposition in 'Bone-Crushing Showdown' to Oust Regime

Lebanon's business community has joined the opposition in a nationwide campaign to overthrow Premier Karami's government, while 38 legislators demanded the removal of the entire regime, including commanders of all security services for failing to prevent Rafik Hariri's assassination. Karami said he was certain to win a vote of confidence if the opposition tables a no-confidence motion at Parliament's session on Monday. He said Syria's loyalists still maintained the majority in Lebanon's 128-seat legislator, which prompted media analysts to label the imperative confrontation as a 'bone-crushing showdown.' One Beirut newspaper, Al Liwa, said Speaker Berri made a hush-hush visit to Damascus in recent days and held six hours of talks with President Assad on the post-Hariri crisis in Lebanon, apparently culminating in a decision to support Karami's cabinet in parliament on Monday. The opposition, in turn, won a big boost when the nation's economic associations demanded in a meeting at the Beirut Chamber of Commerce Wednesday that a "neutral government enjoying the confidence of the people of Lebanon, the Arab world and the international community be installed to begin bridging the nation's schism after Hariri's assassination," An Nahar reported Thursday. A joint communiqué said the business community, including the Banking Association and chambers of Commerce, industry and agriculture, paid tribute to Hariri's accomplishment in rebuilding Beirut from the ravages of the civil war, calling him the main driving force behind Lebanon's economy and international relations. The communiqué demanded that the Authorities cooperate in full with the U.N. team dispatched to investigate the assassination and called for a nationwide strike on Monday, which marks the lapse of two weeks on the murder. As the communiqué was being released to the press, 38 opposition legislators met at Walid Jumblat's ancestral mansion in Moukhtara and issued a statement demanding the sacking of all current security commanders in Lebanon, "who should all, without a single exception, be brought to justice." The statement called on other members of parliament to defect to opposition ranks, warning a vote confidence in Karami's government would be as perilous as the Syrian-dictated extension of President Lahoud's regime.(Picture shows Jumblat next to Haririst's legislature Walid Eido as opposition demands were read out)

Jumblat sends Son Taymour to France for Protection

Walid Jumblat has asserted that "Syria's mission in Lebanon is over," warning that Hizbullah "is a Syrian pressure levy with a frightening militia that may be used against us." He also revealed that he had sent his elder son and political heir to Paris to stay alive. "The mere participation of Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in the recent meeting of Syria's loyalists is a bad omen," Jumblat said in an interview with the Parisian newspaper Liberation, which was highlighted by the Beirut media Wednesday. Jumblat was asked whether he was afraid of being assassinated. "Everything is possible. The Syrians have crossed the red line and they tell us 'you have to negotiate on our terms or we will kill you.'" Liberation noted that Jumblat was so afraid of assassination that he has sent his elder son and political heir Taymour to France to "make certain that at least one of the Jumblat family is safe." Jumblat recited in the interview what President Assad told Hariri in their last meeting in Damascus in august last year shortly before Syria dictated the 3-year extension of President Lahoud in power. "Lahoud is me," Hariri quoted Assad as telling him in the meeting that was held when Hariri was still the prime minister of Lebanon, Jumblat said. "That was the intro of Syria's dictation of Lahoud's extension in September, which led Hariri to resign and which touched of the current crisis," Jumblat explained. He further quoted Hariri as having told him that Bashar said: "If Chirac wants to get me out of Lebanon I will destroy Lebanon. Jumblat has Druze in Mount Lebanon, but I also have Druze and I shall hit and destroy Mt. Lebanon." Jumblat said the opposition in Lebanon "does not want to fight the Syrians. They are our neighbors. But we don't want to be annexed in a new Anschluss as Hitler did to Austria in 1938."

Syria may make good on '89 withdrawal deal

By George Baghdadi, special for USA TODAY

DAMASCUS, Syria — More than 15 years after Syria signed an agreement to pull its forces out of neighboring Lebanon, there are new signs that pressure inside and outside the country could lead to the withdrawal of 15,000 Syrian troops.

Monday, thousands of anti-government protesters demonstrated in Beirut's capital. They demanded the resignation of their pro-Syrian government a week after the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, who opposed Syria's continued presence in his country.

The protests by throngs shouting "Syria out" came as Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa met in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Moussa said Assad told him Syria would move to withdraw its forces soon, in accordance with the Taif agreement in 1989.

The deal, negotiated by Hariri, committed Syria to shifting its troops in Lebanon to the eastern Bekaa Valley. The accord also stipulated that Syria and Lebanon should agree on a timetable for a complete pullout. That schedule has yet to be finalized.

Syria, which has pledged before to honor the agreement, has made only minor withdrawals.

But Hariri's death in a bombing Feb. 14 has refocused attention on Syria's presence in Lebanon, where it is the chief power broker. Monday in Brussels, President Bush called on Syria to withdraw its forces. The United States pulled its ambassador out of Syria for consultations last week to protest a suspected link between Hariri's death and Syria.

"The Lebanese people have the right to be free, and the United States and Europe share an interest in an independent, democratic Lebanon," Bush said. "Our shared commitment to democratic progress is being tested in Lebanon, a once-thriving country that now suffers under the influence of an oppressive neighbor."

Syria has denied any involvement in the assassination.

The salvo of censure targeting Syria after Hariri's assassination has prompted some Syrians to publicly urge their leaders to pull the troops out of Lebanon — apparently in defiance of a government that has not regularly tolerated dissent.

A statement signed by more than 30 Syrian intellectuals and human rights activists addressed to their Lebanese counterparts said, "We support your demand for the Syrian withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon and in correcting the Syrian-Lebanese relationship." But the group added, "We are extremely painful and angry to see and hear that some Lebanese are insulting Syria and its people without (it) being guilty."

Lawmaker Hashem al-Akkad said he would propose forming a committee to study the "Lebanese case" at Syria's 250-seat Parliament. "Syria is getting no benefits in Lebanon," Akkad said. "We are spending millions of dollars. The Lebanese should know that quite well."

But there was no official word on the possible withdrawal beyond Arab League chief Moussa's comments Monday.

A presidential statement released after Moussa and Assad met said only that they had reviewed the "latest developments and preparations for convening the upcoming March Arab summit in Algeria."

But Fayez Sayegh, editor in chief of the state-run Al-Thawrah newspaper, downplayed the significance of Moussa's announcement, which he said "is not new."

"Syria is committed to agreements with the Lebanese parties, committed to the Taif Accord. ... When Damascus redeployed its troops five times over the past years, it was part of the agreement," Sayegh said.

Syria sent its forces into Lebanon in 1976 to try to impose a cease-fire on the country's warring Christian and Muslim factions. The civil war continued until 1990.

Syria regards Lebanon as a pivotal part of the Arab-Israeli dispute. Syria, with Iran, is among the major backers of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group, which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. If Lebanon were to sign a peace agreement with Israel, Syria would be the only Arab country technically at war with Israel.

Bassam Taleb, editor of the satirical Syrian magazine al-Dabbour (The Wasp) wrote in an editorial that the Syrian government should quit or bow to popular demand for change.

"It is supposed that you (the government) should be in the lead in caring for our interests," he wrote. "But if those who complain outnumber your advocates, then you would rather quit and leave."

Contributing: Wire reports

Syria Must End Occupation of Lebanon, Bush Says

Syria must end its occupation of Lebanon, President Bush said on Monday, branding Damascus an "oppressive neighbor" to a once-thriving nation.

"Just as the Syrian regime must take stronger action to stop those who support violence and subversion in Iraq and must end its support for terrorist groups seeking to destroy the hope of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Syria must also end its occupation of Lebanon," Bush said in a keynote speech in Europe.

Washington, which suspects Syria had a role in last week's killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, has piled pressure on Damascus and Bush said before his visit that he would press European leaders to follow suit.

"Our shared commitment to democratic progress is being tested in Lebanon, a once-thriving country that now suffers under the influence of an oppressive neighbor," Bush said on his first day in Brussels, where on Tuesday he will meet European Union and fellow NATO nation leaders.

Although the EU is also pressing for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, it favors more of an "engagement" approach.

Despite U.S. objections, the EU initialled a trade and cooperation agreement last year intended to boost ties with Syria but it has yet to sign or implement the accord.

source: Reuters

Jumblat Pleads with Assad: 'Unchain us, Leave us. You Made us Hate Syria'

Rafik Hariri's assassination has brought about an inescapable showdown between President Assad's regime and a broad-based Lebanese opposition front sworn to unchain Lebanon from Syria's bondage. "It's over and out. The relationship between Syria and Lebanon cannot continue in this manner. There must be a change, for Syria's sake before Lebanon's sake," said Druze leader Walid Jumblat, the spearhead of an opposition campaign sworn to terminate the current master-slave status. In a late night interview aired by Hariri's Future-TV network, Jumblat said the assassination had slammed the door shut for any possible dialogue with either Syria or President Lahoud's regime, "which is a terrorist arm for Syria's secret service." "Please, please, please go away. Please leave us alone, unchain us," Jumblat pleaded with Assad, wondering "why did you make us hate you, why did you make the Lebanese hate Syria. Why?" Jumblat said Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh and Justice Minister Adnan Addoum of Premier Karami's government were "nothing more at best than servants of Rustom Ghazaleh," the brigadier general who heads Syria's military intelligence apparatus in Lebanon. "We will one day bring brooms and sweep this dirt, this authority of lackeys, to roast in hell. They will certainly be thrown to hell by the people of Lebanon soon," said Jumblat, the closest political ally and friend of ex-Premier Hariri before his assassination in a massive bomb blast in Beirut on Monday. Jumblat said the opposition would stick to unarmed democratic means to break Syria's grip. "We have no weapons and we do not want any weapons, although whenever we object, politically mind you, they reply by assassinating us. Finish. The language of dialogue is over and out." He also ruled out a dialogue with the Lahoud regime, saying "how can we enter into a dialogue with a government of dummies controlled by Syria's intelligence service." Time and again in the interview Jumblat asked President Assad "why did you make us hate you. The whole of the Lebanese nation now hates Syria. Why?" Jumblat said, addressing Assad, "there is absolutely no way to convince the Lebanese, not even a single one of them that Syria's Moukhabarat intelligence service hasn't murdered Hariri or is innocent of his blood."

Jumblat Demands U.N. Team Interrogate Ghazaleh as Assassin Suspect

The United Nations has set a committee of experts to investigate ex-Premier Hariri's assassination and Druze opposition leader Walid Jumblat demanded that Syria's military intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Rustom Ghazaleh be a prime suspect for interrogation. U.N Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a team led by Ireland's deputy police commissioner to Beirut in the next few days to investigate Hariri's assassination, the U.N. spokesman announced Friday. The move came in response to a request from the Security Council that he urgently report on "the circumstances, causes and consequences" of Hariri's killing, the spokesman said in a statement. "The team will make contact with Lebanese officials and others to gather such information as necessary for the secretary-general to the council in a timely manner," the statement said. Peter Fitzgerald, the team leader, has been a deputy Irish police commissioner since 1998 and has worked in U.N. peacekeeping operations in Namibia and Cambodia and was police commissioner in Bosnia until February 1997. He also served as a member of the independent team that investigated security at U.N. headquarters in Baghdad before the Aug. 19 bombing that killed 22 people and injured over 160. The statement said the team going to Beirut "will consist of staff with relevant expertise" but no other names were announced. The Security Council on Tuesday expressed grave concern at the possible impact of Hariri's assassination on the ongoing efforts of the Lebanese people to solidify democracy and stressed that the "terrorist act" must not jeopardize upcoming parliamentary elections. Jumblat said Gen. Ghazaleh must be interrogated because as chief of Syria's military intelligence in Lebanon he could be the main suspected who plotted and executed the massive bombing assassination. Jumblat made the statement Friday night on the sidelines of an opposition declaration of an uprising patterned after the Palestinian Intifada to extract Lebanon from Syria's 28-year-old ruthless tutelage, but by "peaceful and democratic means." Jumblat also scolded President Lahoud for exercising his swimming hobby all through Hariri's funeral procession on Wednesday.(Naharnet-AP)

Opposition Declares Intifada to Rescue Lebanon from Syria's Tutelage

The Lebanese opposition declared an "uprising for independence" Friday and called for the pro-Syrian regime to step down so that a new government can be formed to oversee a Syrian military pullout from Lebanon. "In response to the criminal and terrorist policy of the Lebanese and Syrian authorities, the Lebanese opposition declares the democratic and peaceful intifada (uprising) for independence," said leading opposition figure Samir Franjieh. "We demand the departure of the illegitimate regime," Franjieh said, reading a final statement at the home of Druze leader Walid Jumblat after an opposition meeting at the Bristol hotel. Jumblat did not attend the meeting, for days after the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, for "security reasons," aides said. The meeting was attended by more than 40 of the parliament's 128 members, as well as dozens of political activists. The opposition called for "the formation of an interim government as a supreme national necessity to protect the Lebanese people and ensure the immediate and complete pullout of Syrian forces from Lebanon ahead of free and honest legislative elections." They also declared "the suspension of any political or legal debate in parliament before the truth is uncovered." "We call on parliament ... to hold a plenary session to discuss the series of assassinations which started with the attempt on Marwan Hamadeh, with the martyrdom of Rafik Hariri and the targeting of former minister (Bassel) Fleihan" in the same blast that killed Hariri.(AFP)

US envoy calls for immediate Syrian pullout from Lebanon

AFP: 2/16/2005

BEIRUT, Feb 16 (AFP) - The top US envoy to the Middle East called Wednesday for the "complete and immediate" withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and demanded an investigation into the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

"Mr Hariri's death should give renewed impetus to achieving a free, independent and sovereign Lebanon," Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns told reporters.

"What that means is the immediate and complete implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, and what that means is the complete and immediate withdrawal by Syria," he said after talks with Foreign Minister Mahmud Hammud.

Burns was speaking after Hariri, who was killed on Monday in an attack many in Lebanon blame on Syria, was laid to rest at a funeral attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

The United States has recalled its ambassador to Syria over the killing of Hariri, while stopping short of directly blaming Damascus, which pulls the strings in Lebanon's corridors of power and has 14,000 troops stationed there.

Burns said Washington and the world will monitor closely Lebanon as it prepares to hold parliamentary elections in May.

"The Lebanese people must be allowed to make their own political choices and to conduct elections on their own, free of foreign interference," he said.

Burns said Hariri had many friends in France and the United States.

"Today Americans join the people of Lebanon in a deep shared sense of rage and anger," he said.

He also called for a "credible" investigation into the murder of Hariri to bring his killers to justice.

"The US joins with the entire international community in stressing the urgent importance of conducting a serious and credible investigation to bring those responsible for this act of terrorism to justice," Burns said, adding that Washington was ready to help.

Hammud told him however that Lebanese Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh insisted on Beirut's opposition to an international probe.

"An international inquiry is unacceptable. Investigators will, if necessary, call upon experts from neutral countries," Franjieh said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday the UN Security Council asked Secretary General Kofi Annan for a report into the "circumstances, causes and consequences" of the killing of Hariri, which came just months after it voted for a complete withdrawal of Syrian forces.

In a statement, the 15-nation council called on all parties to fulfil the demands of Resolution 1559, which demanded the troop pull-out and an end to outside intereference in Lebanon's affairs.

Burns branded Hariri's murder a "brutal act of terrorism" before heading to the Hariri family home to present condolences on behalf of the US government.

Assassins Kill Hariri by Mechanically Detonated One-Ton Bomb

Explosive experts are subscribing to a theory that Hariri was killed by a one-ton charge rigged into underground sewage or city water tubes that was mechanically detonated once his motorcade was spotted by naked eye passing over the bomb, media reports said Wednesday. This theory explains why the sophisticated jamming systems installed in Hariri's armor-plated limousines had failed to neutralize the bombing and save him had the attack been staged by remote-controlled roadside bombing or a car-bomb driven by a suicide attacker. The assassination scene abutted a ditch carved 10 days ago for underground public works repairs of the sewage system. Retired army Brig. Gen. Shehadeh Maalouf told the LBCI Tuesday evening that as a seasoned explosives specialist he is inclined to subscribe to the underground mechanically detonated bombing. "I am not ruling out a remote-controlled roadside bombing or a suicide driver crashing his car-bomb into the motorcade. But the exceptionally huge crater caused by the blast makes me more inclined to the underground tunnel theory," Maalouf said. Every five-meter part of a sewage or water tube can take 500 kilograms of explosives, other experts say. Opposition sources at Koreitem told Naharnet that experts of Hariri's Oger company were convinced that between a 1,000 and 1,500 kilograms of T-4 high-powered explosives were used in the assassination.

U.S. Recalls Ambassador to Syria

Press Statement
Richard Boucher, Spokesman
Washington, DC
February 15, 2005

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has decided to recall Ambassador Margaret Scobey, the United States Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic, for urgent consultations following the brutal murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14. Ambassador Scobey will be returning imminently to Washington from Damascus.

Following the murder of former Prime Minister Hariri, Ambassador Scobey delivered a message to the Syrian Government expressing our deep concern as well as our profound outrage over this heinous act of terrorism. Syria maintains a sizeable presence of military and intelligence officials in Lebanon, in contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1559. Yesterday’s bombing calls into question the stated reason behind this presence of Syrian security forces: Lebanon’s internal security. The Lebanese people must be free to express their political preferences and choose their own representatives, without intimidation and the threat of violence.

In recent months, we have raised repeatedly with senior officials of the Syrian Government a number of issues, including the Syrian presence in Lebanon, the continued presence and operational activities of international terrorist groups and the Iranian regime on and through Syrian territory, and the use of Syrian territory by the Iraqi insurgency. To date, these concerns have not been adequately addressed. We again call upon the Syrian government to take positive action on all these matters.

2005/195
Released on February 15, 2005

Secretary Rice in Rome, on Lebanon and Syria

Secretary Condoleezza Rice - Villa Madama ; Rome, Italy
February 8, 2005
EXCERPTS

QUESTION: I'm Preston Mendenhall from NBC News. Madam Secretary, Syria's role in everything from the Mid-east to the current conflict in Iraq seems to be somewhat unresolved in terms of U.S. policy. How will Syria be dealt with?

SECRETARY RICE: Syria has been unhelpful in a number of ways concerning particularly support for terrorists operating out of southern Lebanon. It is, of course, also the case that we and the French put forward a resolution that passed in the United Nations, 1559, that called the Syrians to account for the interference in Lebanese affairs. Lebanon is a fledgling democracy in that region and they need to be left to their work in ways that there is not foreign interference. So, on that matter as well you know, too, that we've had problems with Syria concerning what is going on on the Iraqi-Syrian border and support for insurgency from there. So there's a long list.

And while we sometimes make what I would call minimal progress, it is by no means the kind of progress that we need to make. I would hope that the Syrian regime would recognize that in the long-term Syria would not want to be isolated either from the international community nor have a bad relationship with the United States. And it is time for Syria to demonstrate that it does not want to be isolated, that it does not want to have a bad relationship with the United States. We have already used the Syrian Accountability Act to levy certain sanctions against Syria. I would hope that Syria could react in a more positive way so that we do not have to go further in that regard.

QUESTION: A journalist from Syria. My name is Mohamed Ibrahim, correspondent of (inaudible). Your Excellency, I'm a Syrian from the Golan Heights. I was uprooted from my village in the Golan Heights. Isn't (inaudible) a form of terrorism and when will you promise me to return back to my village? Thank you

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I can't promise you anything. This is something that will have to be resolved between the Israeli government and the Syrians, recognizing that one day there will undoubtedly be and should be a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. It will be enormously accelerated if governments in the region, including the Syrian government, do not support rejectionists who are trying to blow up the process of getting to peace. The more that the Syrian government wants to see an acceleration of the peace process that can lead to an ultimate comprehensive peace for the Golan and for others, the more the Syrian government needs to crack down on the terrorists that are using Syrian territory and using Southern Lebanon where Syria resides to make sure that those people cannot frustrate this process. I can't say it strongly enough. You cannot say on the one hand that you want a process of peace and on the other hand support people who are determined to blow it up.

So, I would just say to the Syrian government if it wants to see an acceleration of the peace process and a comprehensive peace, then deal with the terrorists in their midst. Thank you.

Jumblat Finally Says it in Public: 'Baathists Assassinated my Father'

Walid Jumblat has effectively accused Syria for the first time in public of assassinating his father, Kamal Jumblat, in a 1977 gunfire ambush in the Chouf region at the height of the first round of Lebanon's civil war. The charge the Druze leader hurled was seen as emphatic confirmation that his confrontation with President Assad's regime in Damascus had crossed the point of no return.He was lashing back at Assem Kansou, Secretary-General of Syria's ruling Baath Party branch in Lebanon, who accused Jumblat of stabbing Syria in the back on behalf of the U.S. and France and vowed to "crucify you over the garbage dump of history.""I want to remind the Baathist bands," Jumblat retorted, "that they had assassinated Kamal Jumblat in the name of Arabism, may their pretended Arabism be cursed," Jumblat said after the meeting of his parliament bloc at his Beirut house in Rue Clemenceau on Thursday, according to An Nahar Friday.

Syria Wears New Face in Lebanon, Opposition Demands 2-Stage Exit

Naharnet

Syria is trying to wear a new face in Lebanon, shedding the coercive approach of its dreaded military intelligence apparatus in favor of persuasive diplomacy superintended by former Syrian ambassador to Washington Walid Moallem. The ongoing change of image is seemingly dictated by the heaviest wave of Lebanese resentment of Syria's highhandedness ever since it sent its army in 1976 to halt a civil war that, nonetheless, raged on for 14 ravaging years. This resentment has been coupled with an international drive to get Syria out of Lebanon altogether, which was accentuated by Security Council resolution 1559 that called for a total military pullout and the disarmament of Hizbullah. Moallem, who has been promoted by President Assad to the post of deputy foreign minister, has been in Beirut Tuesday and Wednesday for meetings with top officials of the Lahoud regime as well as leaders of the opposition, saying "Syria stands at the same distance from all in Lebanon." Moallem held separate rounds of talks with President Lahoud, Premier Karami, Speaker Berri and Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud as well as ex-Premier Hariri and opposition leaders Butros Harb and Nassib Lahoud, who served as Lebanon's ambassador to Washington at the time Moallem was Syria's top diplomat in the United States. Harb and Nassib Lahoud met with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir at his seat in Bkirki Tuesday and then attended luncheon thrown for Moallem by Lebanon's Vice Premier Issam Fares. "We told him that the crux of the matter is the lifting of trusteeship and the restoration by Lebanon of its sovereignty, independence and free decision," Nassib Lahoud said in a statement. "This is the central issue. Otherwise the crisis remains." Lahoud said "a total Syrian withdrawal in a short period is a must." This withdrawal, he suggested, could be carried out in two stages, the first before the spring elections to the Bekaa Valley and the second out of Lebanon altogether after the elections within the framework of a clear timetable "negotiated by a national union government not the current government." Moallem then met with ex-President Amin Gemayel, who said he asserted the stance of the Lebanese opposition on the restoration of Lebanon's freedom and sovereignty. The Syrian coordinator plans to hold more round of talks with Lebanese politicians Wednesday.(Photo shows Gemayel welcoming Moallem)