Hizbullah and entire opposition behind Suleiman

Source: Daily Star, 28-12-2007
BEIRUT: Hussein Khalil, political adviser to Hizbullah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Thursday the "entire opposition" advocates bringing Lebanese Army chief General Michel Suleiman to the presidency. Khalil stressed that all parties in the opposition, including Hizbullah, still support the election of Suleiman as president.
He added that the opposition was willing to discuss power sharing in the new government.
"We want Suleiman to rule the country without obstacles," Khalil told Iranian-owned Al-Alam satellite TV. His remarks were published by the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir.
Lawmakers are set to meet on Saturday in the 11th bid to vote for a new head of state, but many expect Lebanon to remain without a president until after December 31, when Parliament will be in recess.
The country has been without a head of state since Emile Lahoud's term expired on November 23 and feuding political camps failed to elect a successor to the post.
The ruling coalition and the opposition have agreed on electing Suleiman to the post, but remain at odds over the election process and the shape of a new administration.
The opposition is demanding a "basket" of guarantees before the vote takes place, including an agreement on the Cabinet make-up. The ruling coalition has insisted that the make-up of the government remains the prerogative of the president.
Khalil stressed that the presidential vacuum is "strictly a US demand, since Washington is trying every possible effort to besiege Hizbullah, Speaker Nabih Berri and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun."
Khalil accused the US of torpedoing a French mediation initiative, "which was approved by the opposition."
He said that the "battle with the opposition is directly orchestrated by the Americans."
Khalil lashed out at Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government, accusing it of ruling under dictates from Washington and with external support.
Lebanon's government on Monday proposed a draft law on the amendment but Berri has said he would not accept legislation from a Cabinet he considers illegitimate.
The opposition says the Siniora government has had no legal authority since all five Shiite Cabinet ministers resigned from their posts last year.
Khalil said Siniora's power and authorities were confined to the Grand Serail "only" and that he is no longer ruling in the name of the Lebanese.
Khalil urged MP Saad Hariri to accept a power-sharing deal "and tell the opposition: You are welcome, take your share, I'm your partner."
Khalil also said that Aoun is "being besieged because he isn't lending an ear to external powers, but rather speaks from a Lebanese perspective."
Meanwhile, Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has reportedly outlined four conditions to put an end to the ongoing political impasse, according to Muslim scholar and opposition member Fathi Yakan. The daily Al-Mustaqbal on Thursday quoted Yakan as saying the conditions include agreement on a constitutional amendment allowing the election of Suleiman.
Other conditions consist of deals on a national unity government and the new army chief, as well as establishment of a timetable for amending the electoral law and holding elections in a period no later than the end of the current Parliament's term.
Nasrallah outlined similar conditions during his last speech on November 05.
Yakan told the paper the government is responsible for "what could happen to Lebanon in the event that the situation remained grim."