"Meeting of Frankness" Marks Start of New Stage
Source: Al-Manar TV, 25-9-2008
The "meeting of frankness" that joined Hizbullah and Future movement on Wednesday for the first time after long months of rupture of relations marked the start of a new stage in Lebanon, a stage in which political differences would be respected and direct communication between rival parties would be preserved.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting with Future Movement chief MP Saad Hariri, the head of Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad stressed that the meeting was a frank one, adding that the two parties are already reconciled.
"I would rather say that it was a meeting of frankness rather than a meeting for reconciliation," Raad said. He also revealed that more than one declaration of intentions would be issued later.
Raad also declared that the meeting between Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Hariri will be held soon.
During the meeting with Hizbullah, Hariri expressed his wish to remove posters and slogans from the airport road as well prior to his meeting with Sayyed Nasrallah. However, he asserted that he does not put this wish as a condition. Lebanese daily As-Safir said Hariri will visit Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at his Ain el-Tineh residence "in the coming hours" to announce a joint initiative by the opposition and the "March 14" forces aimed at removing posters and banners from Beirut.
According to As-Safir, Hariri asserted that "our hand is always extended for dialogue." For his part, Raad thanked Hariri for his words, "and we appreciate the historic role of this family." "We have managed along with former PM martyr Rafik Hariri to achieve complementarity between the reconstruction project on the one hand, and the Resistance project on the other."
"We do not disagree over the issue of "Israel". "Israel" was and will remain our enemy, and I am convinced that we can confront "Israel" with our unity," Hariri also said.
Later on Wednesday, Hariri revealed during an Iftar (fast breaking) banquet at his residence that the meeting with Hizbullah has helped "break the ice" between the two parties. "We are breaking the solid ice which accumulated in people's hearts throughout the days and which put the Lebanese on the verge of sectarian strife. We want the state and Lebanese Army to be the arbiter between all Lebanese, because we will not leave Lebanon hostage to sectarian wars," he said.
"It is time that Lebanon comes out of the dark tunnel and preserves its right to be a sovereign state capable of administering its issues and applying the law. A state that offers guarantees to all political and sectarian groups and is responsible of confronting the "Israeli" attack as well as renewing confidence in our democratic regime and free economy," he added.
For his part, Future MP Ammar Houri told Lebanese daily An-Nahar that the meeting between Sayyed Nasrallah and Hariri requires preparation, "but there is definitely an intention to hold it." Houri described Wednesday's meeting in Qoraitem as "the start of a political disengagement."
The "meeting of frankness" that joined Hizbullah and Future movement on Wednesday for the first time after long months of rupture of relations marked the start of a new stage in Lebanon, a stage in which political differences would be respected and direct communication between rival parties would be preserved.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting with Future Movement chief MP Saad Hariri, the head of Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad stressed that the meeting was a frank one, adding that the two parties are already reconciled.
"I would rather say that it was a meeting of frankness rather than a meeting for reconciliation," Raad said. He also revealed that more than one declaration of intentions would be issued later.
Raad also declared that the meeting between Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Hariri will be held soon.
During the meeting with Hizbullah, Hariri expressed his wish to remove posters and slogans from the airport road as well prior to his meeting with Sayyed Nasrallah. However, he asserted that he does not put this wish as a condition. Lebanese daily As-Safir said Hariri will visit Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at his Ain el-Tineh residence "in the coming hours" to announce a joint initiative by the opposition and the "March 14" forces aimed at removing posters and banners from Beirut.
According to As-Safir, Hariri asserted that "our hand is always extended for dialogue." For his part, Raad thanked Hariri for his words, "and we appreciate the historic role of this family." "We have managed along with former PM martyr Rafik Hariri to achieve complementarity between the reconstruction project on the one hand, and the Resistance project on the other."
"We do not disagree over the issue of "Israel". "Israel" was and will remain our enemy, and I am convinced that we can confront "Israel" with our unity," Hariri also said.
Later on Wednesday, Hariri revealed during an Iftar (fast breaking) banquet at his residence that the meeting with Hizbullah has helped "break the ice" between the two parties. "We are breaking the solid ice which accumulated in people's hearts throughout the days and which put the Lebanese on the verge of sectarian strife. We want the state and Lebanese Army to be the arbiter between all Lebanese, because we will not leave Lebanon hostage to sectarian wars," he said.
"It is time that Lebanon comes out of the dark tunnel and preserves its right to be a sovereign state capable of administering its issues and applying the law. A state that offers guarantees to all political and sectarian groups and is responsible of confronting the "Israeli" attack as well as renewing confidence in our democratic regime and free economy," he added.
For his part, Future MP Ammar Houri told Lebanese daily An-Nahar that the meeting between Sayyed Nasrallah and Hariri requires preparation, "but there is definitely an intention to hold it." Houri described Wednesday's meeting in Qoraitem as "the start of a political disengagement."
