Lebanon's Opposition Renews Commitment to Doha Talks

Lebanon's Opposition Renews Commitment to Doha Talks

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19/05/2008 Three days on the beginning of national dialogue in Doha, differences on the national unity government and the electoral law persisted between Lebanese feuding parties The Lebanese national opposition renewed on Monday its commitment to the inter-Lebanese dialogue in Doha and to the Arab League initiative. Opposition leaders held a meeting in Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's suite in the Doha Sheraton Hotel to discuss the course of the dialogue. The meeting was attended by Berri, the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc General Michel Aoun, the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohamad Raad, the head of the Popular Bloc MP Elie Skaff, MP Hagop Pakradounian as well as the accompanying delegations. In a statement, the opposition stressed its commitment to the Arab initiative and readiness to continue national dialogue in Doha until all the clauses of the Phoenicia document declared last week in Beirut are fulfilled. The statement also noted that the opposition has suggested several formulas for the electoral law. "The agreement over the national-unity government and the electoral law will be followed by the election of consensus president Army Commander General Michel Suleiman," the statement read. Shortly after the statement was distributed to reporters, representatives of the ruling bloc started a meeting to deliberate. Meanwhile, continuous efforts by the Qatari leadership were still ongoing to help the Lebanese leaders resolve their exacerbated crisis and ensure they wouldn't leave Doha before reaching agreement. In this context, a delegate attending the meetings said that Qatar proposed on Sunday the formation of a unity government as a possible way out of the current crisis in Lebanon and the postponement of a decision on the disputed electoral law. The proposal came on the second day of talks aimed at resolving the political crisis, following a Sunday meeting between Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and the main leaders of the rival factions, mainly Berri and Aoun from the opposition and the head of the unconstitutional government Fouad Saniora and MP Saad Hariri from the ruling bloc. MUSSA: WE ARE HALF WAY THERE At the meantime, Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa confirmed that the crisis in Lebanon was half-way to a breakthrough. "I cannot tell you when we will finish," he said, adding that "we are half way there." However, Mussa said he will leave Doha Tuesday no matter what the results of the talks were because of other commitments. Indeed, although no timetable was set for the Qatar talks, delegates said the clock was ticking. Sheikh Hamad was due in Saudi Arabia for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday and set to begin a foreign visit on Wednesday.