Opposition 'dismayed' by Jumblat remarks on dialogue with Hezbollah
Christian Opposition MPs are reportedly dismayed by Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat's remarks about sitting with Hezbollah for electing a president.
French special presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian is set to arrive in Lebanon in September to resume a French initiative to push for a solution to the presidential impasse.
He had proposed on his last visit to invite all those taking part in the process of electing a president to a meeting in September to achieve a consensus on the challenges and on the priority projects the future president will have to carry out, and consequently the qualities necessary for tackling them.
Thirty one opposition MPs said in a joint statement that "any dialogue with Hezbollah would be futile" and that dialogue should only be held after a president is elected.
Jumblat said that there is no alternative to sitting with Hezbollah and that he doesn’t understand "the justifications of some Christian parties who are rejecting dialogue."
Pro-Hezbollah daily, al-Akhbar, claimed Monday that Jumblat's remarks have upset and confused the Kataeb party and the Lebanese Forces.
It said that the opposition has contacted several MPs from the Democratic Gathering bloc to inquire about Jumblat's remarks, as they considered that his stance would "weaken the opposition."
In an interview published Friday, Jumblat said that "no one wants a settlement but it is the thing we need the most for the sake of the country and not for the sake of any party in this or that camp."
"We must sit with (Hezbollah chief) Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, not only for electing a president but also for the sake of Lebanon’s future," the former PSP leader said.
Al-Akhbar said that the recent dialogue between the Free Patriotic Movement and Hezbollah has become a real concern for the opposition and that they have started to prepare for a new political workshop before the arrival of Le Drian.
"Jumblat's stance has increased the opposition's confusion," the daily claimed.
Hezbollah and the FPM had started a dialogue after almost one year of tensions regarding Hezbollah's nomination of Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh for presidency and the participation of its ministers in cabinet sessions boycotted by the FPM.
FPM leader Jebran Bassil said that he is "willing to sacrifice" regarding the next president's identity in return for "two gains for Lebanon: broad administrative and financial decentralization and the trust fund."
He said the talks with Hezbollah are currently about the decentralization and the trust fund but could lead to "electing a president who is compatible with the project of building a state."