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Leaders at National Dialogue Agree that Shabaa Farms are Lebanese

Leaders at a national dialogue have agreed on the second day of talks that the disputed Shabaa farms are Lebanese and that the issue should be raised to the United Nations.
Speaker Nabih Berri, the driving force behind this meeting, described the talks as "serious and extremely honest." He said the national interest was everyone's top priority.

Berri, speaking at a press conference Friday evening, said the participants agreed on the second day of negotiations that the Shabaa Farms were Lebanese.

"All participants insist on their (the farms') Lebanese identity. However, no final decision has been made yet," Berri said.

He added that according to his personal opinion, the Lebanese government should take the issue to the United Nations, while continuing to support the resistance.

The identity of the farms, located on the border with Syria, has been the subject of much debate as the issue is directly linked to Hizbullah's weapons.

The area is the last post held by Israel after it withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. At the time, U.N. cartographers said Shabaa fell inside Syrian territory seized by Israel during the 1967 war. Based on this decision, the international community concluded that Resolution 425, that calls on the Jewish state to pull out from Lebanon, has been fully implemented.

However, Hizbullah argues that Shabaa belongs to Lebanon. The armed group has vowed to hold on to its weapons until the border region is liberated.

Some leaders of the anti-Syria majority, namely Druze leader Walid Jumblat, have accused the Party of God of using Shabaa as a pretext to hold on to their arms and use them to serve the interests of its allies Syria and Iran.

The other issue that has dominated the meeting is the country's embattled presidency. The anti-Syria parliamentary majority has been seeking to oust President Emile Lahoud, a close ally of Damascus. Its leaders are faced with the challenge of winning over the support of Syria's Shiite allies, Amal and Hizbullah as well as the consent of political rival Gen. Michel Aoun.

Newspapers reported that consensus has been reached on the necessity of ending Lahoud's term. The president's mandate was extended for three years in 2004 when Syria pressured legislators to modify the constitution in order to make the renewal legal.

When Berri called for the meeting he set three items on the agenda. They are the investigation into former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's murder, relations with Syria and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 that calls for free and fair presidential elections and the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon.

The first issue was solved on the opening day when politicians agreed unanimously to task the government with following up on the creation of an international tribunal to try the suspected killers of the ex-premier.

An Nahar said after the consensus over removing Lahoud, the participants agreed that Palestinian groups outside refugee camps should be disarmed and that those inside the settlements should surrender their arms through dialogue, without involving the Lebanese army.(AP photo shows Speaker Berri showing a Lebanese map pointing at the Shabaa Farms to Gen. Aoun and Premier Saniora)

Beirut, 04 Mar 06, 10:36


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