| Sleiman unlikely to attend Libya Arab League summit |
| February 8, 2010 |
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nt Michel Sleiman is not expected to participate in the Arab league Summit to be held in March in Libya, well-informed sources told The Daily Star on Sunday.However, the sources added that Lebanon would be represented in the summit as ongoing domestic discussions with regard to the participating delegation are taking place between political parties.Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been implicated in the 1978 disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr, the Iranian-born Shiite cleric who founded the Movement of the Deprived (Amal) in Lebanon, and disappeared along with two companions after departing for Tripoli to meet with government officials.But Libya has consistently denied responsibility, claiming that Sadr and his companions left Libya for Italy. But the Lebanese judiciary has indicted Gadhafi and six other Libyans for the abduction of Sadr.Last week, Speaker Nabih Berri said only the president was entitled to decide on Lebanon’s participation in Libya’s Arab League summit, but stressed that he “personally” favored that Lebanon boycott the summit.Similarly, the Higher Shiite Council “warned” the Lebanese state Friday against participating in the summit.Ad-Diyar daily reported in remarks published Sunday that Sleiman would not participate in the league as a “consensual president who is keen on preserving what unites the Lebanese rather than dividing them.”“Well-informed sources confirm that the president will not participate in the Arab League summit in Libya as domestic discussions are under way currently between top officials to reach a compromise and a united decision by Cabinet on whether to participate,” the paper reported.The paper added that all parties were keen not to raise any domestic disputes over the issue to avoid destabilizing the current atmosphere of consensus.“The Cabinet would have two choices, either to form a ministerial delegation which would not be headed by Foreign Minister Ali Shami or any other Shiite minister, or delegate the charge d’affaires of Lebanon’s Embassy in Libya to represent the country,” Ad-diyar said.In other news, the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported Saturday that Sleiman was looking to revive the national dialogue in the upcoming few weeks with the issue of Hizbullah’s weapons as the sole topic on its agenda.Ministerial sources told Al-Hayat that such step would demonstrate to the international community that Lebanon has been pursuing its efforts to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701. – Elias Sakr |
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