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Dialogue and reconciliation have to go hand in hand, Sleiman tells Lebanese

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman said on Wednesday that achieving national unity in Lebanon required reconciliation and true dialogue between the Lebanese. “There will be no reconciliation without dialogue and no dialogue without reconciliation,” Sleiman told a delegation from the Lebanese Press Federation which visited him at the Presidential Palace.

Sleiman stressed that the state was responsible for providing its people with the basics.

“Bread and security are extremely important for all the Lebanese … The government is responsible for providing both services … All future efforts will be focused on carrying out this responsibility,” he said.

Sleiman, commenting on calls to add more participants to national dialogue sessions, said it was up to members of the previous dialogue conference to agree on this topic.

The president will chair national dialogue sessions at the palace, but no date has been set.

The president also confirmed that he would visit the United States in mid-September for talks with his US counterpart, George W. Bush.

Sleiman ended a visit to Qatar late Tuesday amid news reports that said he was planning to visit Saudi Arabia in October.

Doha was Sleiman’s third foreign destination since his election on May 25.

He earlier visited France to take part in the Mediterranean Union summit before heading to Damascus for the purpose of agreeing with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, on establishing diplomatic relations.

Speaking to the press, Sleiman said that relations between Beirut and Damascus should be “based on honesty.”

“The two states should openly speak to each other … Lebanon and Syria will not be at odds if bilateral relations between them are based on honesty,” he said.

Commenting on the recent helicopter shooting which led to the death of First Lieutenant Samer Hanna, Sleiman said that the military and the resistance have dealt both seriously and pragmatically with the unfortunate incident.

“There are no malicious intentions,” he said. “Judicial authorities are investigation the issue and will take the necessary measures.”

Hanna’s helicopter was targeted by Hizbullah gunfire in the Southern Sejod Hills. Hizbullah handed over the assailant and said that the Lebanese helicopter was mistaken for an Israeli one.

Sleiman also played down fears that next year’s parliamentary elections will not take place on time.

“As for the new electoral law, I hope we arrive at the best possible law after introducing some reforms,” he said. “The new law might not meet the aspirations of the Lebanese, but the fact that it was agreed on by consensus makes it more acceptable to everybody.”

Rival Lebanese leaders agreed in Doha last May to adopt an amended version of the 1960 electoral law for the 2009 legislative elections.

The new formula is expected to be ratified by Parliament on September 25 after introducing some reforms. The reforms, among which are lowering the voting age form 21 to 18 and allowing emigrants to vote, are being studied by the legislature’s Administration and Justice Committee.

MP Robert Ghanem, who chairs the committee, said on Wednesday that the panel was aiming at finishing its work before September 20.

While reforms such as lowering the voting age and regulating the role of the media seem to be making their way smoothly, the issue of allowing emigrants to vote appears to be a much harder task.  Ghanem said that the committee has recently asked the Foreign Ministry about the feasibility of taking the needed measures to allow emigrants to vote abroad.

“We are still waiting for an answer,” he added.

Committee sources told The Daily Star on Wednesday that emigrants might be allowed to use their passports to vote inside Lebanon if logistical issues keep them from doing so abroad. The sources added that the committee will also propose that the rest of the Lebanese be allowed to vote using their national identification cards.

Lebanese usually vote using a special electoral document.

Sleiman also received  Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora at the palace on Wednesday.

While Berri left without making any statements, Siniora told reporters that there will be no Cabinet session this week. The session had been scheduled to take place on Thursday.

Also Wednesday, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said that the accidental attack on the military helicopter had nothing to do with discussing a defense strategy for Lebanon.

“This accident should not reflect on the discussions regarding Hizbullah’s possession of arms,” he told reporters after the weekly meeting of his Reform and Change parliamentary bloc.

Aoun also argued that a lawsuit should be filed against lo-cal French-language daily L’Orient Le Jour for a headline it ran last Saturday. The paper’s headline read, “Hanna was killed in cold blood,” implying that the attack was premeditated by Hizbullah.

Meanwhile, Hizbullah’s Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc congratulated General Jean Kahwaji for his appointment as new chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces.

The bloc reiterated that it “deeply regretted” the shooting of the helicopter, adding that positive cooperation between the resistance, the army, and judicial authorities was enough to “set the record straight.”

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