Opposition plans protests at airport, ports in Lebanon

Steps to begin if mediation fails
Source: Daily Star, 4-1-2008
BEIRUT: The opposition is considering staging protests at the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport, as well as at major ports across Lebanon and the US Embassy in Awkar, according to local media reports on Thursday. The reports were carried by both the Al-Akhbar daily.
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in an interview on NBN television on Wednesday night, warned that the opposition would not "remain silent" in the face of the ruling coalition's attempts to "monopolize rule." He said the opposition would give current mediation efforts a week to 10 days before taking "decisive measures," but did not specify what these measures would be. The opposition is demanding nothing less than veto power in a new government.
Hizbullah politburo member Ghaleb Abu Zeinab told The Daily Star that the opposition is waiting to see what will happen. "When a decision is taken to move it would mean all mediation efforts have reached a dead end. We will then evaluate the situation and take steps, and all steps taken will be within the democratic framework," Abu Zeinab said.
He did not rule out that such measures would include the closure of the airport road and sea ports and other forms of protest, including sit-ins. "Sayyed Nasrallah did not set a strict deadline of 10 days after which the opposition would take action," Abu Zeinab said. "If the 10 days pass and efforts continue and there is an Arab initiative, for example, we will wait."
Abu Zeinab said that Hizbullah and the opposition are very keen to avoid the eruption of any Sunni-Shiite sectarian strife. "We are very careful to avoid such an outcome, but the other side should be equally careful to avoid it, just as we are. In the end we cannot simply sit at home and do nothing," he said.
Al-Akhbar, citing unidentified sources, said the opposition was studying the possibility of closing down the airport and most sea ports in the country. It said the opposition was also examining the prospects of "organizing a large sit-in" near the US Embassy in Awkar and blocking vital roads, in a move reminiscent of January 23 last year when the opposition closed roads and burned tires to protest against what it said was the unconstitutional government.
The daily said these "ideas were still under serious debate among various factions to avoid plunging the country into strife."
Development and Liberation MP Ali Hassan Khalil, in a statement, accused parliamentary majority leader MP Saad HaririSaad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 and his allies of wasting time to avoid reaching a consensus on a presidential candidate by trying to "push for elections through a half-plus-one vote of MPs."
Khalil also hit back at Hariri, saying talk about Speaker Nabih Berri's "isolation from negotiations by Syria" and the "diminishing of Nasrallah's role by Iran" are rumors.
Hariri had on Wednesday accused Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem of "twisting facts," adding that the French were aware of that.
Hariri had also accused Moallem of trying to "isolate Berri from negotiations" and said Syria "aimed to restrict dialogue to Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun."