Suleiman Postpones National Dialogue after March 14 Boycott

President Michel Suleiman postponed on Monday the national dialogue session that was set to be held on Tuesday after the March 14 camp announced that it will be boycotting the all-party talks.

The next session will now be held on August 16.

The March 14 camp decided to boycott the session in light of the failure to address Hizbullah’s arms possession, provide the telecom data to the security forces, and lift political cover over wanted suspects.

The head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora informed President Michel Suleiman’s envoy of the decision, it said.

Saniora informed the president’s envoy that the camp is committed to its conditions linked to its resumption of the all-party talks, stated MTV.

His press office said in a statement: “Given the information that he received from the president’s envoy, Saniora got the impression that the manner in which the telecom data will be handed over to the security forces is unclear.”

“He then demanded that the complete data be handed over to the security agencies without any complications in order for them to perform their duties in protecting the country and confronting terrorism,” added the statement.

Given the “vague position” on the telecom data and Hizbullah and Palestinian arms, Saniora informed the presidential envoy that the March 14 camp will not change its position on boycotting the national dialogue.

The March 14 meeting on Thursday had not taken an official position to boycott the talks, leaving the room for last-ditch efforts by Suleiman to salvage the national dialogue.

Sources close to the president told As Safir newspaper that Suleiman is exerting last-ditch efforts to overcome the latest obstacles that are threatening the fate of the national dialogue on the country’s defense strategy.

The March 14 alliance has tied its participation in the national dialogue to the government’s approval to hand over the so-called telecom data, including International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), to security agencies investigating the attempted assassinations of MP Butros Harb and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.

Reports said that during a meeting held on Saturday by Suleiman and attended by Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, along with the judges of a three-member committee and security chiefs, an agreement was reached on a mechanism to deliver telecoms data to the security apparatuses.