Fears Over Suspension of Dialogue on Hizbullah Arsenal-Proliferation of Arms Controversy

Any attempt by Hizbullah to keep the issue of its arms away from the proliferation of weapons in Lebanese cities and towns would lead to the obstruction of the national dialogue, centrist ministerial sources warned.

“It would be impossible to hold more dialogue (sessions) if the Hizbullah leadership insisted to take the (issue of) the resistance arms away from the equation of the weapons spread inside cities and outside,” the sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Monday.

Sixteen Lebanese leaders met on June 11 at Baabda Palace under President Michel Suleiman after deadly clashes in the northern city of Tripoli threatened to sink Lebanon in civil war.

The bickering officials agreed to avoid political rhetoric that fuels sectarian incitement, stressed the need to control the increasingly tense Lebanese-Syrian border and rejected a buffer zone in the area.

The leaders also agreed to back the Lebanese army both financially and morally and to steer Lebanon clear of the policy of regional and international conflicts.

They delayed the discussion of the defense strategy, including Hizbullah’s arsenal, and the issue of arms to the next session set for June 25.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Jean Oghassabian warned on Monday against attempts to discuss issues that are not linked to the defense strategy during the next all-party talks.

In remarks to Voice of Lebanon (93.3), he said: “It’s necessary to discuss exclusively the defense strategy during the next session.”

“If the issue of weapons was not discussed and Hizbullah did not propose its vision for the defense strategy during that dialogue session … it would be useless to continue” the all-party talks, he said.

Phalange MP Elie Marouni, who along with Oghassabian is a member of the opposition, also said the March 14 coalition should withdraw from the session if the issue wasn’t discussed.