Berri: Arabs Can Help Lebanese, Not Replace Them

Source: Al Manar TV, 14-04-2008
The Lebanon crisis continues its tour the different Arab capitals, in ongoing efforts to reach any possible breakthrough. Cairo and Amman were the focus on Sunday, with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri holding talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, while the head of the unconstitutional government Fouad Saniora was meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II. Each of the two leaders was, however, marketing his own platform since Berri's trip aims at preparing to launch national dialogue, whereas Saniora is attempting to convince Arabs to hold an urgent FM meeting to tackle the Lebanese-Syrian relations.
On Sunday, Berri held a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, over the Lebanese crisis, coming in light of the "deteriorating situation in Lebanon" and the need for stability.
After the meeting, Berri stressed the ability of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria in aiding Lebanon resolve its outstanding political crisis, noting at the same time that these states "could not replace the role of the Lebanese in resolving their own crisis."
Berri said he did not relay a message from Syrian President Bashar Assad to Mubarak, noting that he had updated Mubarak on his meetings in Damascus. The Lebanese Speaker stressed that he found Mubarak willing to encourage efforts in order to reach a solution to the Lebanese crisis.
He called for inter-Lebanese dialogue "so that the Arab initiative could exit the blocked tunnel in which it is trapped." Berri stated, however, that if presidential elections occurred on the 18th scheduled date in parliament, April 22, "we may not need dialogue."
"When I call for dialogue I'll be a referee despite the fact that I am member of the opposition," Berri told reporters.
Berri will head on Monday to Qatar where he's expected to meet Emir Hamad Ben Khalifa to discuss the Lebanese crisis. For his part, Saniora returned on Sunday evening to Beirut from Amman after talks with King Abdullah II who warned of repercussions from the Lebanese political crisis.
King Abdullah told Saniora during their meeting that "the continuation of the current situation in Lebanon will have repercussions not only on Lebanon but also on the security and stability of the region in general," an official statement in Amman said.
The Jordanian king also "stressed the importance of continuing efforts exerted to solve the Lebanese crisis," the statement added.
Meanwhile, Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar said the option of an interim government headed by Army Commander General Michel Suleiman was being raised. The idea is that such a government could rule the country for a transitory period that could continue functioning until early legislative elections. According to the daily, the candidates for the elections wouldn't take part of such a government; moreover, its head will also be the Interior minister.
The daily said sources from the ruling bloc refused the proposal "since it needs a lot of constitutional amendments and does not resolve the electoral law problem." Opposition sources said that "the ruling bloc does not seek solutions because it wants to stick to the 2000 electoral law," stressing there were "American, French and Saudi pressures to prevent the agreement among Lebanese."