Dialogue Committee Delays Discussion of Defense Strategy, Forms Panel on Abductees

A national dialogue session was held at Beiteddine palace on Thursday during which the conferees agreed to “form a delegation comprising members of the dialogue committee with the aim of contacting the influential countries in a bid to secure the safe release of the Lebanese abductees” in Syria.

The delegation would also “stress keenness on the brotherly ties with those countries,” according to the closing statement of the dialogue session.

The members of the national dialogue committee also decided to “postpone the discussion of the national defense strategy due to the absence of several members of the national dialogue committee, especially Speaker Nabih Berri, and to continue preparations for discussing the issue with the participation of all dialogue parties.”

The session was held in the absence of Berri and Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, two major figures in the March 8 coalition, following days of speculation on the stance of the March 14 opposition alliance ended with a decision to attend.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea had announced from day one that he would boycott the session and al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri could not attend for being abroad.

Berri’s office said in a statement that he would not attend the session over its “location and the circumstances” that accompanied the holding of the all-party talks. He also lauded the “efforts and patience” of President Michel Suleiman, who is presiding the meeting.

Media reports quoted Franjieh’s sources as saying that the dialogue was “useless.”

But his boycott came in light of an indirect criticism by Suleiman to the Marada chief.

“He who describes men (working) for Lebanon as not (real) men is not a man himself,” the president said on Tuesday, a day after Franjieh accused the president of being Syria’s man while army chief and after his election in 2008.

In the closing statement, the conferees “urged the Lebanese government to take all measures necessary to maintain security in all Lebanese regions, in order to preserve stability, the prerequisites of development and Lebanon’s standing in the world.”

They also agreed to “ensure an appropriate atmosphere to guarantee the success of the pope’s visit to Lebanon on September 14, and to consolidate the atmospheres of real accord among the various components of the Lebanese people which would tell the international public opinion that Lebanon has succeeded to maintain its special role and message as a country of freedom, coexistence and dialogue.”

The conferees decided that the next dialogue session will be held on September 20 in order to “resume the discussion of the national defense strategy.”

Suleiman on Wednesday presided over a meeting with all the chiefs of the Lebanese security agencies, after al-Meqdad clan abducted more than 20 Syrians and a Turkish national in retaliation for the kidnap of one of its members by Syrian rebels in Damascus.

Suleiman warned against "jeopardizing the security of the Lebanese citizens and foreigners in Lebanon … under any excuse," noting that “spreading chaos cannot secure the release of any abductee.”

And as he expressed his solidarity with the families of the abductees, the president called on military and security forces to "prevent the blocking of roads and protect the embassies of the friendly and brotherly countries, especially Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Syria."

Dozens of Syrians were kidnapped and Syrian-owned shops vandalized in Beirut’s southern suburbs after unconfirmed reports that several Lebanese taken hostage in Syria had been killed. Gunmen also took to the streets in the southern suburb of Tiro, NNA said.

Earlier on Wednesday, al-Meqdad clan said it kidnapped at least 20 Syrians to try to secure the release of a family member abducted near Damascus this week.

The Syrian rebel group that abducted Hassan al-Meqdad has claimed that he is a Hizbullah sniper. Both Hizbullah and al-Meqdad’s family have denied the claims.

Both Berri’s and Franjieh’s decision not to attend came after al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader Fouad Saniora informed Suleiman on Wednesday that the March 14 opposition will join the other leaders at the all-party talks table.

The last-minute decision came following intense consultations among opposition leaders on whether to attend or boycott the talks.

The last national dialogue session on July 24 was postponed after March 14 tied its participation to a government decision to provide security agencies with the so-called telecom data to help them investigate assassination attempts against MP Butros Harb and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.

The data has since been handed over to the security apparatuses.

Another reason for the boycott was Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad’s announcement that the national defense strategy is not currently necessary because Lebanon is still in the liberation stage.

The national dialogue resumed in June after a 19-month absence.