Al-Manar
25/11/2009 "Reconciliations" again and again…
Once again, the Baabda Presidential Palace embraced a "reconciliation" of another kind, under the tutelage of President Michel Sleiman…
The Lebanese President was able this time to join the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun and the head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt in the first meeting of its kind.
While the two leaders didn't discuss politics during their meeting, the matters related to the Displaced People constituted its main "headline." Aoun and Jumblatt reportedly agreed to oversee reconciliations in the mountains and follow-up on the issue of the displaced people.
The Progressive Socialist Party leader told reporters at the Baabda Presidential Palace following the meeting that he agreed with the Free Patriotic Movement leader that the cabinet would be a place to cater to the needs of the Lebanese and added that contentious issues would be discussed in the National Dialogue. Jumblatt stressed that the meeting with Aoun contributes to the Mountain reconciliation made in 2001 between himself and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. He also noted that only few areas have not achieved reconciliation yet, including the villages of Brih and Abei in Al-Shehar.
According to Jumblatt, Aoun has considerable political support in the Chouf. He added that his votes in the parliament will not be based on an affiliation with either the March 14 alliance, which he left in August, or the March 8 coalition. Jumblatt also voiced hope that he would be meeting with Aoun soon in Rabieh and said he would also invite him to Mukhtara.
For his part, the head of the Change and Reform bloc said that the reconciliation with Jumblatt aims to "remove the repercussions of the previous black days," a reference to the Civil War battle in the Mountain between the Lebanese Forces and the PSP.
"I think we had divergent political stances, but we did not experience black days with the PSP," he said, adding that those days were a historic mistake. "We hope today is the beginning of a new period of stability and coexistence in the Mountain," Aoun added.
The General also said that he did not discuss politics with Jumblatt, noting that the cabinet is the basic authority and the National Dialogue would address political matters. According to Aoun, the meeting addressed matters related to the displaced people from the Mountain. He added that the issue should be resolved promptly. "We will see the practical positive results of the meeting very soon," he said.
Ahead of the meeting, Jumblatt told Lebanese daily As-Safir that the meeting with Aoun was necessary. "We have already agreed that national obligations compel us to leave debatable issues to the dialogue table," he added.
Jumblat and Aoun held their last face-to-face meeting in Paris in April 2005 although the two men used to meet in parliament and Baabda palace while attending national dialogue sessions.
25/11/2009 "Reconciliations" again and again…
Once again, the Baabda Presidential Palace embraced a "reconciliation" of another kind, under the tutelage of President Michel Sleiman…
The Lebanese President was able this time to join the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun and the head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt in the first meeting of its kind.
While the two leaders didn't discuss politics during their meeting, the matters related to the Displaced People constituted its main "headline." Aoun and Jumblatt reportedly agreed to oversee reconciliations in the mountains and follow-up on the issue of the displaced people.
The Progressive Socialist Party leader told reporters at the Baabda Presidential Palace following the meeting that he agreed with the Free Patriotic Movement leader that the cabinet would be a place to cater to the needs of the Lebanese and added that contentious issues would be discussed in the National Dialogue. Jumblatt stressed that the meeting with Aoun contributes to the Mountain reconciliation made in 2001 between himself and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. He also noted that only few areas have not achieved reconciliation yet, including the villages of Brih and Abei in Al-Shehar.
According to Jumblatt, Aoun has considerable political support in the Chouf. He added that his votes in the parliament will not be based on an affiliation with either the March 14 alliance, which he left in August, or the March 8 coalition. Jumblatt also voiced hope that he would be meeting with Aoun soon in Rabieh and said he would also invite him to Mukhtara.
For his part, the head of the Change and Reform bloc said that the reconciliation with Jumblatt aims to "remove the repercussions of the previous black days," a reference to the Civil War battle in the Mountain between the Lebanese Forces and the PSP.
"I think we had divergent political stances, but we did not experience black days with the PSP," he said, adding that those days were a historic mistake. "We hope today is the beginning of a new period of stability and coexistence in the Mountain," Aoun added.
The General also said that he did not discuss politics with Jumblatt, noting that the cabinet is the basic authority and the National Dialogue would address political matters. According to Aoun, the meeting addressed matters related to the displaced people from the Mountain. He added that the issue should be resolved promptly. "We will see the practical positive results of the meeting very soon," he said.
Ahead of the meeting, Jumblatt told Lebanese daily As-Safir that the meeting with Aoun was necessary. "We have already agreed that national obligations compel us to leave debatable issues to the dialogue table," he added.
Jumblat and Aoun held their last face-to-face meeting in Paris in April 2005 although the two men used to meet in parliament and Baabda palace while attending national dialogue sessions.
Aoun: No Reconciliation Scheduled with Sfeir, Geagea
25/11/2009 The head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun said on Wednesday that the meeting that earlier joined him with the head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt yielded positive results, noting that the meeting aimed to reassure the people of the Mountain and denying scheduled reconciliations with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.
Speaking to reporters following his bloc's weekly meeting, Aoun said the main purpose of his meeting with Jumblatt was to erase what he called a historic mistake. He also said that he discussed many issues with Jumblatt, including that of the people displaced from the Mountain.
The General asked Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to withdraw the topic of abolishing political sectarianism from discussion in order to study it thoroughly. He said that some difficulties need to be overcome first. "There are many things we can't resolve, such as people being bound to sects by issues like marriage… there are human rights principles that some sects do not acknowledge," he added.
Meanwhile, Aoun commented on the reports that the Constitutional Council rejected on Wednesday all 19 contestations to parliamentary election results. "That’s what I heard. We will wait and see," he said. "We will wait till the Constitutional Council issues its verdicts officially before we comment on what its president said today," he added.
Commenting on Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar's announcement about the dismissal of a judge for bribery, Aoun said that reform principles are provided through safeguarding the independence of the Judiciary and its honesty. "Punishment comes with reform, but it is not the only principle of reform," he emphasized.
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