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| Factions open talks on
Lebanon's future Rival leaders in deeply divided Lebanon began talks over how the country will run without Syria's accustomed domination. By Hussein Dakroub, AP BEIRUT - Lebanon's rival leaders agreed in an unprecedented meeting Thursday to let the government resolve the contentious issue of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination so they can focus on thorny issues such as the fate of the pro-Syrian president and the weapons of Hezbollah guerrillas. The leaders -- Muslim and Christian, pro- and anti-Damascus -- met for the first time in an effort to overcome the country's deep divisions since the end of Syrian occupation. A U.N. probe is investigating last year's truck bombing that killed Hariri and 20 others, and the government has demanded an international tribunal to try the suspects in the case. It also sought the U.N.'s help in investigating the spate of bombings that hit Lebanon since October, killing in all 33 people. Many in Lebanon blame Damascus for the attacks, but it has denied any involvement. Pro-Syrian factions, some of which are represented in the Lebanese Cabinet, originally objected to expanding the Hariri probe and to forming an international tribunal but the government voted for it anyway. Thursday's decision appears to settle the matter. ''It was unanimously decided that the decisions of the government pertaining to this [assassination] and related issues . . . be followed up by the Lebanese government,'' said Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a pro-Syrian politician who called the conference. A very wide gulf remains over other issues. Tough bargaining was expected over renewed calls by the anti-Syrian coalition for President Emile Lahoud's resignation and for Hezbollah, the guerrilla group fighting Israel, to disarm. Those issues alone could derail the most serious attempt to reach a compromise solution to Lebanon's worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. About 35 key leaders and aides gathered in the first meeting of its kind since the end of nearly three decades of Syrian control, with Damascus' troop withdrawal last year following mass protests sparked by Hariri's assassination on Feb. 14, 2005. Reporters were not allowed into the building. The leaders were photographed smiling and shaking hands. The meetings are to last at least a week. Berri said an evening session ended without any final decisions and added that the talks were taking place in a ``serious, honest and positive manner.'' The participants included Hariri's son and political heir, Saad, a Sunni Muslim who controls the largest parliamentary bloc; Druse political leader Walid Jumblatt; Shiite Muslim Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah; Michel Aoun, a Christian who leads the parliamentary opposition; and Christian leader Samir Geagea. Nasrallah and Geagea were meeting for the first time. The only major politician not invited was Lahoud, who has rejected calls to step down. |
