Suleiman Postpones National Dialogue to January

President Michel Suleiman postponed a national dialogue session that was set to be held on Thursday to January 2013 after the March 14 alliance most likely informed him of the opposition's final stance on boycotting the all-party talks.

The new date for the session was set for January 7, said a Baabda palace statement.

Presidential sources had earlier told An Nahar newspaper published Wednesday that “when Suleiman receives a final answer on March 14's non-participation in tomorrow's meeting, then the presidency will issue a statement announcing the postponement to a later date.”

An Nahar had received information that an opposition official will visit Baabda palace on Wednesday to inform Suleiman about the coalition's stance from the dialogue.

Al-Joumhouria daily expected al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader Fouad Saniora to call Suleiman and inform him of the opposition's decision to either attend or boycott the dialogue.

It was not clear how the president decided to postpone the session and whether the opposition had sent an envoy to meet him.

Lebanon plunged in a political crisis last month when the opposition announced its decision not to sit at the dialogue table with Hizbullah, and boycotted all parliamentary activity after it blamed Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government on the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Wissam al-Hasan.

March 14 also called for the resignation of the cabinet and the formation of a neutral salvation government following al-Hasan's Oct. 19 killing in a car bomb explosion in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.

But Suleiman insisted on calling for the all-party talks and bringing the rival March 8 and March 14 factions together as a starting point for the discussion of the government crisis.

He said Tuesday that he was sure both camps would end up engaging in dialogue sooner or later.

“It seems the concerned parties have no intention of taking part in the next round of dialogue,” he said. “But I am sure they will eventually participate" in it.

Suleiman also told a visiting delegation from the Press Club that if the opposition alliance wants a new government, then its leaders should attend the all-party talks and “directly announce their desire to change the government and hear the response.”