Pressure mounts on Saniora over 1559... Hizbullah MPs demand definitive statement on premier`s position

source: Daily Star, 15-11-2005.
summary: BEIRUT: For the third day in a row, Hizbullah`s leaders demanded that Premier Fouad Saniora give a definitive statement regarding his position on UN Security Council Resolution 1559. Hizbullah MP Hassan Huballah asked Saniora to clarify the claim made by UN envoy Terje-Roed Larsen`s most recent report that the premier was committed to 1559`s full implementation.
In a statement, the MP said that Hizbullah wanted Siniora to "clarify Larsen`s claim which contradicts with the ministerial statement that granted Cabinet the confidence of Parliament."‏‏
Saniora was scheduled to leave for Bahrain Tuesday as a continuation of a previous regional tour.‏‏
Hizbullah`s official in the South, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, also demanded the government take a clear position on what he called "the American project in the region."‏‏
"What is Lebanon`s official stance on the American project that aims at besieging Syria politically and economically, and what is its position from the American abuses against the resistance?" Qaouk asked during a commemoration ceremony Monday.‏‏
"The situation requires a clear stance from the government in this stage of direct confrontation with the American project in Lebanon and Syria," he added.‏‏
Hizbullah`s leaders further said that if Saniora had made such a claim to Larsen, he should declare it publicly.‏‏
But sources close to the Saniora said the premier`s position on 1559 had never differed from his public comments and that Lebanon respects international resolutions. The sources added that Saniora insists "that the article in Resolution 1559 related to disarming Hizbullah requires national dialogue."‏‏
While assuring that the premier considers "Hizbullah a party that represents a basic segment of the population and cannot be dealt with as a group of armed men," the sources denied claims suggesting Saniora had requested from Iranian Ambassador Massoud Idrissi that his country mediate between Lebanon and Syria. According to the sources, Saniora's meeting with the diplomat was to explain his Cabinet`s position on President Bashar Assad`s speech delivered last week.‏‏
In meetings with Arab and foreign ambassadors on Monday, Saniora clarified the government`s stance on Assad`s speech.‏‏