By Hadi Khatib
Lebanonwire staff

UN Special Envoy for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution UN 1559 Terje-Roed Larsen arrived to Lebanon Thursday carrying a message of hope and spurring Lebanese leaders to continue their national dialogue without any distractions from developments around them.

Larsen, who himself had been shuttling between time zones orbiting from Europe to the Middle East, positioned Lebanon’s prominence in the Milky Way as a “star that will keep shining through for years to come.”

“I have arrived to encourage the national dialogue to continue without interference from a third party but rather in the spirit of the Taif Accord and its implication on UN 1559,” Larsen said describing the roundtable talks as a “star”.

“I am happy to be back to this beautiful country, knowing that changes are taking place around the region and that Lebanon has always played a vital role for the Arab region,” Larsen told reporters at the Beirut’s International Airport.

Larsen expressed hope the dialogue will not be affected by the ongoing regional crisis in Iraq, Iran and the tense Lebanese-Syrian relations.

Larsen said that for the first time Lebanese are engaging in a dialogue without foreign interference in order to pave the way for a bright future for their country.

“I am very hopeful that Lebanese will succeed in their mission and I am here representing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to spur these talks forward under the guidelines of the Taif Accord and UN 1559,” Larsen said.

Larsen paid tribute to Speaker Nabih Berri’s efforts to bring a successful end to the talks “and Lebanese need to reach an agreement for the benefit of their country.”

Larsen is scheduled to meet today with Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to discuss the progress made at the dialogue.

Larsen is set to present his report on the progress with regard to the Lebanese-Syrian relations and the implementation of UN 1559 in mid April following visits he made in the past month to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The UN house in Beirut issued a statement yesterday saying Larsen had met in Jordan with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and had positive discussions on the issue of Palestinian militias in Lebanon.

Among the many articles of UN 1559, the resolution calls for disarming Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and restoring the Lebanese Army’s authority over all of Lebanon’s territories.

Larsen also met with Jordanian King Abdullah II who for his part reiterated his support for the national dialogue and the need for all parties to cooperate on the former premier Rafiq Hariri’s murder probe.

“We are adamant on the need for everyone to respect Lebanon’s independence and refrain from interfering in its internal affairs,” King Abdullah II said in a statement issued by his press office.

“I realized that King Abdullah is a true partner in the peace process and Jordan is a country that works hand in hand with the international community to bring about peace in the region,” Larsen said following his meeting with the Jordanian king.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet decided to create a follow-up committee tasked with visiting the Palestinian refugee camps and evaluating the living conditions there, as part of a previously agreed Cabinet decision and in accordance with one of the articles of the dialogue which received approval during the talks.

Daily Al-Hayat said Friday that Future Movement leader Saad Hariri is planning to hold talks on the sidelines of the dialogue to discuss the removal of President Emile Lahoud from office, a major point in UN 1559, which considers Lahoud an illegitimate president whose mandate had been extended by force.

The daily said Hariri would in his talks push for a new president “who would protect the resistance and Hezbollah and support the execution of the articles of the dialogue that participants would agree upon, since Lahoud would only work on hampering any effort towards implementing the resolutions at the talks.”

In a related development, Butros Asaker, the Secretary General of Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry at the UN said the Security Council is ready to vote on Monday on a resolution enabling Annan to begin discussions with the Lebanese government on the makeup, date, and conditions associated with the international tribunal responsible for prosecuting the culprits in the Hariri investigation, pending a final report from Serge Brammertz, the lead UN investigator in the probe.

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