Sarkozy Calls On Lebanese To Join Hands

June 7th, 2008 Posted By Pat Dollard.

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BEIRUT, June 7 (KUNA) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday called on the Lebanese parties to honor the Qatari-mediated conciliation accord and affirmed his current visit was aimed at demonstrating support for the country, particularly to President Michel Suleiman.

In a statement he made upon arrival at Rafic Al-Hariri Airport in southern Beirut, Sarkozy urged the camps of opponents and loyalists to honor the commitments they had made within framework of the Doha Accord, worked out on the 21st of last month, apparently alluding to the necessity of speeding up formation of a new government and recurring security incidents.
Sarkozy said his visit to the country was aimed at congratulating Suleiman on his election as president and demonstrating support for his leadership, noting that the ties binding Paris with Beirut “are stronger than ever.” It is about time that the Lebanese join hands, form a government and seek to shore up the national economy, he said, adding that the Lebanese could count on France for economic, cultural and moralistic support.

“I strongly believe in the joint destiny of the peoples of the Mediterranean,” said Sarkozy, mastermind of the establishment of a Union for the Mediterranean.

His remarks in this respect came after a conference was held in Algeria to discuss the French-proposed establishment of the regional bloc, including Israel. Lebanon and Syria boycotted the conference, apparently due to the notion that this would be tantamount to illict recognition of Israel.


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6 Responses

  1. Dan (The Infidel)

    Not possible. Shia Hizbullshitta through Iran wants Lebanon as a proxy state from which to launch their jihad against Israel and to dominate politics in the Sunni ME.

    The Syrians want to get their influence back and make Lebanon their defacto province again.

    Sunnis want to be the defenders of Palestinians again…and the president of Palestinian victimhood.

    Right now Syria is just a logistical conduit for Hizzie weapons from Iran. Hence their recent attempts at speaking to the US over the Golan.

    By and large the Golan is meaningless. As is the Palestinian question to Syria. The real prize is control of Lebanon which Syria continues to covet above all other considerations.

    None of this has escaped the attention of the rest of the Sunnis in the ME who see Iran’s influence vis vis Lebanon as a threat to their control over ME influence.

    Sooner or later, there is going to be a showdown in Lebanon between the Shia and the Sunnis.

  2. franchie

    it’s an official visit, therefore the discourse is official, though the signification of the trip is in the protocole choice :

    Thank you for giving back to Ceasar what is to Ceasar

    Thank you for going ONLY to the Presidential palace and meeting ONLY with the president of the Lebanese Republic .

    Thank you for putting Sanioura back in his right THIRD place as per the Lebanese protocole !

    Thank you for putting the little HARIRI back at his place with the crowd like any other normal PM !

    Thank you for not going to the GRAVE or MAUSOLÉE of RAFIC HARIRI and bend in front of him like your predecessor and other STUPID leaders use to do once in Lebanon !!

    Thank you for giving FRANCE back its GRANDEUR that was lost with CHIRAC because of his very doubtful relationship with the saoudi rafic hariri and his saoudi friends - relations that have destroyed Lebanon socially and financially since 1990 with the TAEF agreament and the French blessing of Chirac .

    Your historical visit to lebanon has shown to the Lebanese , that the ones that were pretending that France was their private garden during Chirac’s presidency ! are nothing else but liars , thieves and will soon be judged like Chirac is been judged actually in France for the same ” corruption ” reasons

    a Lebanese comment on the visit

    Now, Sarko was also supposed to visit south Lebanon and the french troops there, but this wascancelled ; the troops are upseted that their president takes no concern with them.

  3. Dan (The Infidel)

    There can be no real reconcilliation between parties so long as Iran holds sway through Hizbollah’s veto.

    Giving in to Hezbollah and by extension to Iran is akin to teasing a Cobra and not expecting it to bite.

    The Hizzies lost a major battle with the Sunnis in their recent take over of airport roads and local Sunni areas.

    The Hizzies aren’t strong enough to take all of Lebanon militarily, but can make up for lack of military power through its newfound political power.

    The Sunnis have proven that they can defeat the Hizzies…but are unable to completely rid themselves of the vermin, because they lack the military power to do so.

    An attack on Iran by the US and the support it would garner in Sunni circles would give the Saudis and others the impetus…the motivation to sieze the moment, aid the Sunnis and retake Lebanon from the Shit-ite apostate Hizzies, once and for all.

    They could then marginalize the Shit-ite Alawis by declaring them kafir through a fatwa. Once that happens, Syria’s military would be subject to a jihad by Sunnis.

    In any event, no one is going to stop a civil war from happening. If the Sunnis don’t take it upon themselves to toss out the apostates from Iran; the next Hizzie war with Israel might finally cause the Sunnis and Christian allies to tire of the Shia Hizzies and kick them out…or kill them.

    Lebanon needs an “Awakening” program like Iraq experienced. With such a program and military backing, Lebanon might be free again.

    As it stands now, Lebanon is just another province of Syria and Iran and will be the battle space in the next Israeli war.

    If things stand as they currently are, Lebanon will once again be caught up in a power struggle and find itself on the losing end again.

  4. franchie

    “….Dans un entretiens aux quotidiens L’Orient le jour, Annahar et Assafir Nicolas Sarkozy affirme qu’”aujourd’hui, une nouvelle page est peut-être en train de s’ouvrir entre la France et la Syrie”. “Depuis trop longtemps, la situation de blocage et de crise au Liban empêchait la reprise progressive d’un dialogue” mais avec l’élection du nouveau président libanais, consécutif à l’accord de Doha, “les choses sont peut-être en train de changer. C’est en tout cas ce que je souhaite”, poursuit-il.

    “J’avais dit (…) que je reprendrais des contacts avec la Syrie seulement lorsque des développements positifs et concrets seraient intervenus au Liban en vue d’une sortie de crise”, affirme le président de la République. Selon lui, “il faut bien reconnaître que l’accord de Doha, l’élection du président Sleimane, la reconduction du Fouad Siniora dans ses fonctions de premier ministre constituent de tels développements”. “J’en ai tiré les conséquences et j’ai appelé le président Assad pour lui faire part de mon souhait de voir le processus de mise en oeuvre de l’accord se poursuivre”, dit-il. “Je lui ai aussi dit que les pourparlers indirects de son pays avec Israël, via la Turquie, allaient également dans le bon sens et je l’ai encouragé sur cette voie”, ajoute-t-il. Mais “notre exigence de vérité et de justice en ce qui concerne les assassinats politiques perpétrés au liban est intacte”, affirme également M. Sarkozy…”

    seems that the “réalité du jour” is to see what can be done with Syria, that apparently gave a hand to resolve Lebanese election crisis ; anyway it’s what is suggered in Sarko’s above speech.

    as for the President Suleiman’s intentions :

    “The opposition will have 11 (including that of Foreign Affairs) and President Suleiman, who is trying to appear as a neutral third party, will get to name three ministers. Two of them will be the ministers of interior and defense. These new presidential powers, unheard of after the Taif Accords, entitle him to appoint a Maronite at the Ministry of Interior, a Greek Orthodox at the Ministry of Defense, and a Catholic in any post he sees fit…”

    Sami Moubayed

  5. Dan (The Infidel)

    The big change that Sarko doesn’t mention is the veto power given to Hizzbollah over Lebanese affairs. The reduction of Syria as an internal threat to Lebanese freedom is only as a result of the ascendency of Hizbullah (nee Iranian) influence and the subservant position that Syria now finds itself in, in the face of that political and strategic change.

    Ireespective of Sarko’s positive comments, Lebanon is still a proxy of Iran with Syria marginalized politically and militarily by Iran.

    How long will the various Sunni parties in Lebanon and the Greater ME put up with such changes is anyone’s guess.

    The big loser in all of this is still the average Lebanese.

  6. franchie

    “The big loser in all of this is still the average Lebanese”

    OK

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