Report: Hizbullah Will Not Attend All-Party Talks over Rift with Suleiman
Hizbullah will not attend the national dialogue session set to be held on March 31 at the Baabda Palace, local newspapers reported on Saturday.
A Hizbullah source hinted in comments published in al-Liwaa newspaper that the party prefers to participate in a session headed by a new president other than Michel Suleiman.
“What is the need to resume dialogue over the state's national defense strategy as long as the resistance is wooden,” the source pointed out.
The rift increased recently between the President and Hizbullah after Suleiman described the people-army-resistance formula as "wooden" during a speech at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in February.
Suleiman's comments had angered Hizbullah, accusing him of not being able to differentiate between “what's golden and what's wooden."
Informed sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper that Hizbullah is mulling Suleiman's all-party talks invitation.
The sources noted that the rift between the party and Suleiman's over the role of the resistance enraged Hizbullah's leadership.
The sources revealed that Suleiman's invitation didn't include any necessity to confirm the participation in the upcoming session.
The presidency issued on Friday invitations to the concerned political parties to resume the national dialogue on March 31 to continue discussions on a national defense strategy.
The invitations were sent in light of parliament granting the new government its vote of confidence on Thursday.
The last session was held on September 20, 2012.
On Friday, Suleiman lashed out at the resistance in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper.
He said that the resistance overstepped the power given to it when it decided to engage in battles in the neighboring country Syria.
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