Kouchner On Last Nerve, Says President Must Be Elected Now
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11/20/2007
Premier Fouad Siniora received at the Grand Serail French Foreign Minister Bernard Koushner, French Envoy Jean Cluade Cousseran and Arab League Chief Amr Mussa. Discussions between the men focused on the latest developments in the framework of the French initiative. After arriving yesterday for the second time in less than one week, Kouchner signaled a tone of frustrations with the various parties saying the outcome of Lebanon's presidential crisis will forecast the future of region.
REP
Time is running out, nerves are tense and the Lebanese are holding their breath to see in which direction the political crisis will take them. The country's rival political factions remained deadlocked on finding a consensus presidential candidate despite intense international pressure and a looming deadline for a vote in parliament. As foreign mediators scrambled to Beirut to nudge the feuding sides to agree, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, on his second Lebanon visit in less than one week, angrily denounced a party he did not identify for blocking a deal. After meeting the head of the pro-government bloc in parliament, Saad Hariri Kouchner warned 'The one responsible for blocking a process that was agreed upon by all parties bears responsibility for destabilizing Lebanon and for regional consequences.' Kouchner vowed to expose to the whole world the party that is hamper the process. He pointed an accusing finger at forces 'outside' Lebanon, in an apparent reference to Syria and Iran. Kouchner said he was stunned that supporters of the government and the opposition were still at loggerheads over who should replace Emile Lahoud by a Friday midnight deadline. He called on the Lebanese to get their act together stressing the presidential post is not everything; he said there are powers, the government, and the Lebanese. Kouchner made clear a president has be elected now. He insisted that both sides had agreed to work from a list of compromise candidates submitted by Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir. He expressed his and France's surprise ' that something is stuck, something is blocked, something is derailed,' after 'Everyone had given their agreement.' Kouchner, who also met with House Speaker Nabih Berri, stated that if the Lebanese situation is not resolved then negative repercussions will plague the region. Part of his marathon of meetings yesterday, Kouchner met with Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea in Maarab. Following the talks he dubbed the situation as very complicated and difficult but stressed hope remains. Kouchner called on Syria to 'stop posing obstacles but stressed a void remains the worse danger, no matter who is responsible for.' Kouchner also held talks with MP General Michel Aoun in Rabieh, after which he stressed Aoun was not part of the problem but part of the solution. He added that the Palestinians are also counting on a solution in Lebanon as the situation here affects various regional files. He held a second meeting with the head of Patriotic movement today. |
