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| 21/05/2008 Qatar formally announced on Wednesday a deal between Lebanon's opposition and ruling bloc to end an 18-month political crisis that will see Army commander General Michel Suleiman elected as president within 24 hours.
The agreement, announced by Qatari FM Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem al- Thani, also stipulates that Lebanese leaders would not use arms for political gains. "The agreement also calls for re-launching the dialogue under the management of the Lebanese president and ending the use of the language of sectarianism," Sheikh Hamad said.
The agreement also said that a government will be formed based on a 16-11-3 formula (16 for the ruling bloc, 11 for the opposition and 3 to be chosen by the president), adoption of the Qada-based 1960 electoral law with Beirut divided into three constituencies:
- The first electoral district comprising Ashrafiye, Rmeil and Saifi with five seats: Two Armenians, one Maronite, one Orthodox and one Catholic.
- The second electoral district comprising Bashoura, Medawwar and Marfa' with four seats: One Sunni, one Shiite and two Armenians.
- The third electoral district comprising Mazraa, Msaytbe, Ras Beirut, Mina el Hosn, Zaqa el Blat and Dar el Mrayseh with ten seats: Five Sunnis, one Shiite, one Druz, one Orthodox, one Evangelical and one for the minorities.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa said that "the conference has succeeded because all the parties shouldered their responsibilities courageously."
A senior opposition delegate told the Assafir daily that "there is no problem with the new government's Policy Statement which will underline the context of the current government's Statement, stress on the respect of international resolutions, tackle the issue of not using weapons to achieve political gains and stress on the commitment to the decisions reached during the 2006 dialogue.
For his part, Arab League Secretary General who spoke after Sheikh Hamad thanked Qatar for the effort it exerted along side the Arab League to solve the crisis in this Arab country. "We have proven that the no victor – no vanquished formula in Lebanon is the road to safety," Mussa said.
Speaking afterwards, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri thanked Qatar for hosting the dialogue and the great role it played to reach this agreement. "10,452 km2 were not enough to bring us together, but a Qatari plane managed to do so," Berri said.
To express gratitude Berri said that the opposition wishes to thank Qatar and "officially end the sit-in in downtown Beirut as of today." As soon as Berri finished his statement, opposition members began dismantling the camp.
The head of the unconstitutional government Fouad Saniora for his part, thanked in a long speech the state of Qatar for the achievement. ” The agreement we reached is an exceptional agreement amid exceptional circumstances for an exceptional phase… We want Arab states to help us redress Lebanon’s relations with sister Syria," Saniora said.
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