Hizbullah Tells Baabda It Won't Attend Monday Dialogue Session
Hizbullah officially announced Sunday its boycott of a national dialogue session scheduled for Monday, after party chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah hinted Saturday that the group's representative was inclined to shun the all-party talks.
“We have informed officials at the presidential palace in Baabda that the party has decided not to take part in tomorrow's session,” head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad told al-Manar TV.
In addition to Hizbullah, several political forces from across the political spectrum have announced their boycott of Monday's session.
The Lebanese Forces, the Marada Movement, the Lebanese Democratic Party and the Syrian Social National Party have said they will not attend the talks.
Earlier on Sunday, Suleiman expressed regret over the decision by several parties not to attend the all-party talks.
“I hope that the parties that decided to boycott the National Dialogue would participate in upcoming sessions,” Suleiman said.
“Let us continue discussions on the defense strategy to fortify the army's capabilities and put arms under the state's control,” he added. Suleiman also lauded the Baabda Declaration, saying: “It was adopted by the International community.”
Sources close to Suleiman told An Nahar newspaper in remarks published Sunday that “any decision to postpone the national dialogue session will be based on the stances of the parties.”
The rift increased recently between Suleiman and Hizbullah after the president described the so-called people-army-resistance formula as "wooden", or outdated, during a speech at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in February.
Suleiman's comments angered Hizbullah, which accused him of not being able to differentiate between “what's golden and what's wooden."
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah lashed out anew at Suleiman in a televised speech on Saturday without naming him, hinting that the party was inclined to boycott the dialogue session.
“What is golden remains golden, even if someone changes their opinion about it and said it became wooden … Others' description of things does not change the reality of these things,” said Nasrallah.
“We insist more than any other group on holding the presidential elections at the earliest possible time; we even call for an early vote to establish a new phase, resume dialogue over a defense strategy and get the country out of its problems,” he added.
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