Global Policy Forum

By Majdoline Hatoum

As international and internal pressure mounts against the Lebanese government - pushing for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 - sources in the Lebanese Foreign Ministry stressed Lebanon's fixed position on the matter Friday.

"The government is not about to yield to this pressure, and will stick to its official position on 1559, and continue to prepare for the parliamentary elections in May regardless of this pressure," said the sources. This came in a response to statements made by both French President Jacques Chirac and Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir Thursday. Speaking at the Elysee Palace Thursday, Chirac continued to push for the implementation of Resolution 1559 - which France co-endorsed with the U.S. - and stressed that the international community would be monitoring the elections in May. Chirac had made it clear in his statements Syria has to discontinue its tutelage over Lebanon. The French president asserted that enforcement of 1559 was a top priority for France. "Implementation of resolution 1559 underlines our attachment to a free, independent and sovereign Lebanon. This implementation preoccupies our attention and alert, especially on the fringes of the upcoming parliamentary elections in spring." This statement comes at a time when the country is being divided in a struggle between the state and the opposition. As the opposing forces prepare - united - for the elections, they have received another push from a strong source.

On Thursday, the prelate publicly endorsed the work of the Lebanese opposition for the first time, asking the Qornet Shehwan Gathering - of which he is the main patron - to unite with the rest of the opposing factions and prepare for the upcoming elections.

After a Qornet Shehwan meeting and talking on behalf of the prelate, Bishop Youssef Bacharach carried the message asking the gathering to strengthen the solidarity between them and other opposition groups. "In the light of the current national situation, the gathering should unite with its other partners in opposition to face the upcoming elections," he said. The patriarch also said he hoped the opposition would accomplish its aims this year "because we are passing through a very critical situation that demands our unity." Sfeir's message is considered to be of importance, since the patriarch, who has always asserted he was a religious and not a political figure, publicly declared for the first time his endorsement of the work of opposition groups. In addition, Chirac had invited Sfeir to France - via the main opposition leader Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt, who was visiting Chirac after the president invited him to France.

The Foreign Ministry sources said a meeting between U.S. President George Bush and Chirac is expected to take place on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit next month, where the two leaders will discuss means to implement Resolution 1559. "This falls within the recent escalating pressure on Syria and Lebanon," the sources said. Lahoud is expected to give a speech to foreign and Lebanese diplomatic figures soon, clarifying Lebanon's stand on 1559.

"Both the U.S. and France will push for the implementation of this resolution to avoid the embarrassment they felt following the extension of Lahoud's mandate despite Resolution 1559," added the sources. The sources also said these statements by both French and U.S. officials were aimed at giving political support for the opposition candidates during the parliamentary elections. "Such statements are taking place to accomplish one purpose, which is to provide for a suitable mood for the opposition candidates during the elections," said the sources. But the head of the National Bloc, Carlos Edde, said Thursday that the opposition was aiming at restoring Lebanese sovereignty through democratic means, and is far from resorting to a coup.

"I do not think our work to change the current regime can be called a coup, as it is a regime imposed on us by Syria," he said. Edde accused Syria of having only one concern in Lebanon, which is maintaining its economic interests. "The main reason behind Syria's support to the extension of Lahoud's mandate is the tight economic relations run by the leaderships in the two countries," he said. Edde also addressed the issue of monitoring the elections, and said that the patriarch was the first to demand this issue - during a statement by the Maronite Bishop's Council some two months ago.

"This is a very acceptable right that is applied by countries around the world," he said.

Meanwhile, Dinnieh MP Jihad Samad slammed the opposition on Friday for trying to impose its own opinions on the majority of the Lebanese, who - he said - do not support its (the opposition's) plans. Samad - a strong supporter of the government - who was talking during a news conference held at his home in Tripoli, said the opposition had a programmed plan to sabotage the achievement accomplished following the end of the war. "They own a media dictatorship and practice financial terrorism to forge facts and then elections, and they have the nerve to accuse the government of attempting to forge these elections," he said.

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