President Michel Sleiman presented Lebanon’s stances to the UN General Assembly assuring that Lebanon is committed to the implementation of international resolutions, the most prominent of which were the commitment to the Palestinian right of return and to the execution of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Although he stressed on the importance of reaching a “final solution” for Palestinian refugees, saying that they cannot be denied their “natural and legitimate Right of Return to their lands and homes,”  President Suleiman reiterated by saying that Beirut rejects “any form of settlement of the Palestinian refugees in its territories.”
According to the President, “Such a stance will neither be compromised nor reversed.”

On the same note, President Suleiman urged the international community to pressure Israel into implementing all provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, namely to withdraw from all occupied Lebanese territories, including the Shebaa Farms, the Kfar Shouba hills and the northern part of the Ghajar village .

Mr. President said that Israel should stop its daily violations of Lebanese sovereignty and its persistent threats against Lebanon, its institutions and infrastructures. “Lebanon will pursue its international efforts to compel Israel to pay compensations for the full damage it caused during its past wars on Lebanon,” said the president.

During his speech at the UN General Assembly session in New York on Friday, President Michel Sleiman confirmed that he was looking to “establish a national-unity government as soon as possible in order to return governance to the country.”
He told the General Assembly that parliamentary consultations are taking their full course in accordance with the Lebanese constitution, voicing his hope that it will “reinstate the government dynamics and launch political, administrative, and judicial reform.”
The president said coexistence in Lebanon goes against all currents of ethnic or religious cleansing. “That’s why I called last year to make Lebanon an internationally recognized center for the dialogue of civilizations.”

He also tackled, in his 20-minute speech, the Mideast crisis and said “any solution should be founded on a pre-determined and integrated scheme, the basic elements of which have been mapped out in the resolutions of international legitimacy.”
However, according to the president, Israel is not helping and “did not show such will.” Mr. President told the world leaders that they should resort to appropriate means of pressure to compel Israel to fulfill its international obligations towards the peace process.

He praised Lebanon for maintaining its stability throughout the years, saying it dismantled many Israeli espionage networks and terrorist cells, implemented Resolution 1701, strengthened its bilateral relations with other countries, and held “honest and credible” parliamentary elections, which its results were internationally recognized.

While the President  highly praised the UNIFIL’s role in the South stating that Lebanon is committed to preserving the safety of the forces, he also vowed to pursue efforts to force Israel to pay due compensation for the full damage that it caused through its repeated aggressions against Lebanon, particularly during the 2006 war with Hezbollah.

Finally President Suleiman hoped that Lebanon would be elected to the non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council for 2010-2012 “with wide support from sisterly and brotherly countries,” noting that Lebanon is a founding member of the UN.

25 September 2009 – The international community must step up pressure on Israel to fulfil its obligations to the Middle East peace process, Lebanon’s President told the General Assembly today, warning that Israeli “threats of attacks and wars” were futile and only delayed a long-term solution to the region’s troubles.Michel Sleiman told the Assembly’s high-level segment, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, that Israel should be compelled to meet its obligations “within a specific and reasonable time-frame,” in line with a recent declaration by the Arab League at a summit in Doha.

“Or else, how are we to convince our peoples that the international community is capable of achieving a just and comprehensive peace and thus of putting an end to the various aspects of the Middle East conflict, including Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State with Al-Quds as its capital, if it is not capable of forcing Israel to halt its settlement construction, to lift the unjust siege on Gaza, and to stop the judaization of Jerusalem?”

Mr. Sleiman said a lasting solution to the Middle East conflict will not work unless the parties demonstrate “genuine political will to commit themselves to peace and its obligations.”

But he accused Israel of not showing that will, given that “the soundness and usefulness of a just peace are still under discussion on both its Government and grass-roots levels.”

He added that “Israeli threats of attacks and wars persist as a means to impose control hegemony, as well as to impose a fait accompli, should they not be as means of expansion, displacement, and further encroachment of the Palestinians’ and Arabs’ rights.”

Mr. Sleiman contrasted this with the position of the Arab countries, which he noted “had put forward an integrated peace initiative that was unanimously adopted” in 2002.

Stressing the importance of the Palestinians having “their natural and legitimate right of return to their lands and homes, the Lebanese President described the Palestinian cause as being at the heart of the Middle East crisis.

“Israel’s resorting to force to impose a fait accompli is futile and shall neither weaken the will nor the determination of the Arab people to retrieve their rights. Partial and unilateral solutions could not achieve genuine peace, and unjust solutions are short-lived.”

Also criticizing “Israeli intransigence” in achieving Middle East peace was Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

In spite of immense efforts, including United States President Barack Obama’s unveiling of his vision for a peace pact based on a two-State solution and a halt to all settlement activities, “all of this has not lead to a conclusion to this conflict,” he told the Assembly.

“How is it conceivable that negotiations can be held on the borders and on Jerusalem at the same time that Israeli bulldozers are working to change the reality on the ground with the aim of creating a new reality and imposing the borders as Israel desires?” Mr. Abbas asked.

In his speech, the leader voiced his appreciation for Mr. Obama’s address to the debate earlier this week in which he “affirmed the necessity for ending the occupation that began in 1967 and the illegitimacy of the settlements.”

He also warned that “time is running out, and the risks are becoming greater as a result of the continued suffering of the Palestinian people under the last occupation in the world.”

Sheikh Naser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait, also calledtoday for an end to Israeli settlement activity, urging the international community and the Security Council to act to end Israel’s “policy of collective punishment it imposes on the Palestinian people.”

The United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict at the start of this year, he said, “clearly proves” that Israeli forces committed war crimes during the fighting.

The Council, the Kuwaiti leader said, must to end the “crimes against humanity” committed during Israel’s “brutal aggression” against Gaza.

President Michel Suleiman met Thursday the French President Nicholas Sarkozy in New York. The two leaders’ discussion revolved around bilateral ties and the latest political developments in the Mideast.
The French support for Lebanon’s non-permanent membership in the U.N Security Council was a major topic on the meeting agenda as Sarkozy renewed “France’s full support of Lebanon in the international forums.” and tackled the Cabinet lineup issue calling for a Lebanese reconciliation that should result into “speeding up the Cabinet formation in order to enable Lebanon to handle the files and the dues that are awaiting on the national and regional levels.”

Given that, the two presidents reviewed the issues and files that the French PM Francois Fillon will discuss with the Lebanese officials during his visit to Beirut at the end of the month on the occasion of the Francophone Games opening in the Lebanese capital.

Suleiman’ s schedule for the day included many activities related to his efforts in lobbying for Lebanon’s presence in the U.N. Security Council as a non-permanent member.

Following his meeting with Sarkozy, he met with Austrian President Heinz Fisher who confirmed that his country will vote in support of Lebanon’s non-permanent membership in the Security Council for the consecutive years 2010 and 2011 and hoped “for a Cabinet lineup as soon as possible.”

At the end of his meeting with Suleiman, the Bosnian President stressed on the necessity of developing bilateral relations and reinforcing the economic and investments exchange between the two countries.”,

Suleiman met also the Iranian and the Palestinian heads of states as well as the Turkish PM, the Foreign Ministers of UAE and Egypt and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani with whom he had dinner.

President Suleiman started his day attending the Security Council meeting headed by the American President Obama on the non-proliferation of the nuclear arms and is expected to deliver his speech at the U.N. General Assembly Friday at 6pm, Beirut time.

President Michel Suleiman discussed on Tuesday with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad regional developments as well as the Lebanese situation in light of outcome of consultations on Cabinet formation.

The daily As-Safir on Wednesday quoted visitors as saying that Suleiman was getting ready for a new round of consultations with the various political parties to discuss ways to break the deadlock over a Cabinet lineup.

They pointed that Suleiman is likely to propose new ideas aimed at resolving obstacles hindering formation of a national unity government.

They said the President was keen on achieving a Cabinet lineup before his trip to New York on Sept. 22 where he will address the U.N. Security Council.

Asahrq al-Awsat, meanwhile, said Suleiman was rushing PM-designate Saad Hariri toward drafting a Cabinet makeup for fear of a prolonged Cabinet vacuum.

Suleiman had met Tuesday with Labor Minister Mohammed Fneish and hoped that political rhetoric would ease.

President Michel Sleiman said on Saturday it was high time to address the constitutional flaws which continued to hinder Lebanon’s democratic processes. Addressing Lebanese Army soldiers during a ceremony commemorating the 64th Army Day at the Military School in Fiyadieh, Sleiman criticized the delay in the cabinet’s formation.

Sleiman added that the presidency would guarantee partnership and safeguard democracy following years of foreign interference in Lebanon’s domestic affairs. In a protocol precedent, the ceremony was attended by four rather than three top officials. In addition to Sleiman and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Premier-designate Saad Hariri and caretaker Premier Fouad Siniora sat in the front row.

“If the problem lies with us as politicians, then we should resign, if it lies within the constitution then we should amend it, if it lies with political sectarianism then we should end it,” Sleiman said.

The president called on the Lebanese not to fall for political polarization, which could hamper the state’s progress, adding that nation building required compromises from all parties.
“It was unfair for the Le­banese people to keep on discussing numbers and initiate conflict,” Sleiman said, a reference to ongoing arguments on the cabinet’s distribution of shares and portfolios.

Sleiman added that the next government should implement a wide range of reforms so as to support the nation’s progress and modernization.
“The next government should come up with a valid economic plan and put an end to electricity and water shortages,” Sleiman said.

Concerning the Taif Accord, Sleiman underscored the need for its implementation, and the creation of a new electoral law. The Taif accord agreed upon by Lebanese lawmakers in Saudi Arabia in 1989 put an end to Lebanon’s bloody 1975-90 Civil War.

The accord led to the disarmament of Lebanese militias, reinforced Lebanon’s ties with Syria and called for the abolition of political sectarianism. Commenting on the Lebanese-Syrian bilateral ties, Sleiman said diplomatic relations with Damascus “strengthens the relationship between the people of both countries.”

Tackling the situation in the south, Sleiman urged for the full implementation of UN Resolution 1701 without any amendments. The United Nation Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is responsible for the resolution’s implementation as well as monitoring the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.

The president also underscored Lebanon’s dedication to safeguarding UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon “the same way we protect our soldiers.”

Regarding the efforts of the Lebanese Army in safeguarding the country’s stability and security, Sleiman praised their efforts “when it came to combating Israeli offensives, terrorist cells and spy networks.” He also highlighted the army’s contribution in ensuring the smooth course of the June 7 parliamentary elections in one day

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman said on Saturday it was high time to address the constitutional flaws which continued to hinder Lebanon’s democratic processes. Addressing Lebanese Army soldiers during a ceremony commemorating the 64th Army Day at the Military School in Fiyadieh, Sleiman criticized the delay in the cabinet’s formation.

Sleiman added that the presidency would guarantee partnership and safeguard democracy following years of foreign interference in Lebanon’s domestic affairs.

In a protocol precedent, the ceremony was attended by four rather than three top officials. In addition to Sleiman and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Premier-designate Saad Hariri and caretaker Premier Fouad Siniora sat in the front row.

“If the problem lies with us as politicians, then we should resign, if it lies within the constitution then we should amend it, if it lies with political sectarianism then we should end it,” Sleiman said.

The president called on the Lebanese not to fall for political polarization, which could hamper the state’s progress, adding that nation building required compromises from all parties.

“It was unfair for the Le­banese people to keep on discussing numbers and initiate conflict,” Sleiman said, a reference to ongoing arguments on the cabinet’s distribution of shares and portfolios.

Sleiman added that the next government should implement a wide range of reforms so as to support the nation’s progress and modernization.

“The next government should come up with a valid economic plan and put an end to electricity and water shortages,” Sleiman said.

Concerning the Taif Accord, Sleiman underscored the need for its implementation, and the creation of a new electoral law.

The Taif accord agreed upon by Lebanese lawmakers in Saudi Arabia in 1989 put an end to Lebanon’s bloody 1975-90 Civil War.

The accord led to the disarmament of Lebanese militias, reinforced Lebanon’s ties with Syria and called for the abolition of political sectarianism.

Commenting on the Lebanese-Syrian bilateral ties, Sleiman said diplomatic relations with Damascus “strengthens the relationship between the people of both countries.”

Tackling the situation in the south, Sleiman urged for the full implementation of UN Resolution 1701 without any amendments.

The United Nation Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is responsible for the resolution’s implementation as well as monitoring the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.

The president also underscored Lebanon’s dedication to safeguarding UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon “the same way we protect our soldiers.”

Regarding the efforts of the Lebanese Army in safeguarding the country’s stability and security, Sleiman praised their efforts “when it came to combating Israeli offensives, terrorist cells and spy networks.” He also highlighted the army’s contribution in ensuring the smooth course of the June 7 parliamentary elections in one day.

Sleiman calls for creation of senate
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman said on Tuesday that all efforts would be deployed to hold democratic polls and allow the Lebanese to “freely express their will.” During his second-day state visit to Paris, Sleiman met with Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe at the Hotel de Ville.

In remarks to reporters, Delanoe said any violation of Lebanese sovereignty “would be met by a strong response by the French people.”

He added: “Lebanon cannot be but an independent state; I already told this to Syrian President Bashar Assad.”

“The Lebanese should enjoy free will on their own territory,” Delanoe said.

Sleiman laid a wreath of flowers during a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, before attending a meeting with French Senate President Gerard Larcher at the Senate in Paris.

In remarks following the meeting, Sleiman said: “The Senate is a very important body of the state,” and added: “We, in Lebanon, should work to form a Senate after creating a national committee to abolish confessionalism.”

Larcher, for his part, underlined the “special friendly ties between France and Lebanon.”

Sleiman is in France for a three-day state visit focusing on French military and economic assistance to Lebanon.

He also met Tuesday with former President Jacques Chirac.

Sleiman, whose visit comes as Lebanon prepares to open its first-ever embassy in former powerbroker Syria and gears up for legislative elections in June, met on Monday with Sarkozy for almost an hour ahead of a banquet dinner held by the French president in his honor.

“This visit shows Lebanon’s value in France’s eyes, and the French president’s support for the Lebanese government and people,” Sleiman told reporters after their talks.

“France has always supported and promoted the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon,” he added.

Sleiman said there was a “total convergence of views” between Paris and Beirut on Lebanese ties with Syria, and the wider Middle East peace process.

Sleiman told Sarkozy that faster progress would be made in Lebanese internal affairs and in ties with Damascus in the aftermath of the June 7 elections.

Asked by reporters whether he received guarantees there would be no compromises in the region at Lebanon’s expense, Sleiman said: “We definitely got and we already know that France will not allow any settlements at Lebanon’s expense.”

Sarkozy assured Sleiman of “France’s full support for efforts to consolidate the independence and unity of Lebanon,” the French presidency said.

A Lebanese government official told AFP the visit would also focus on French military and economic aid to Lebanon.

France has 1,900 troops serving as part of a UN force in south Lebanon, although it announced in January plans to withdraw two warships monitoring waters off the Lebanese coast.

Sarkozy said he was following up on Lebanon’s defense strategy dialogue and warned that safeguarding the public was a fundamental mission of the Lebanese government.

“France is extremely cautious in following up on the defense strategy being prepared [by the various Lebanese leaders] … to allow the Lebanese state, exclusively, to ensure defense of the country,” Sarkozy said.

“In a country that enjoys sovereignty, no party but the state is allowed to provide security,” he added.

“You can count on our support in this regard,” the French president stressed.

Regarding the Mideast peace process, Sarkozy said: “2009 should be the year of peace in the Middle East; and Lebanon should be an effective player.”

He also stressed that his country did not support any side against the other in Lebanon.

Paris “stands by those who work in Lebanon’s interests,” he told Sleiman.

Sarkozy also expressed his country’s readiness to support Lebanon in political, military, cultural and economic fields. – The Daily Star, with AFP

PARIS (AFP) — Lebanese President Michel Sleiman kicked off a three-day state visit to France Monday, holding talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy who pledged his full support for the reconciliation process in Lebanon.

France rolled out the red carpet for the Lebanese leader, who was escorted across the River Seine to the official guest residence of the Elysee Palace by mounted republican guards.

Sleiman, whose visit comes as Lebanon prepares to open its first ever embassy in former powerbroker Syria and gears up for legislative elections in June, met with Sarkozy for almost an hour ahead of a banquet dinner.

“This visit shows Lebanon’s value in France’s eyes, and the French president’s support for the Lebanese government and people,” Sleiman told reporters after their talks.

“France has always supported and promoted the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon.”

Sleiman’s visit was expected to focus on the diplomatic with Damascus, which was spurred by former colonial power France.

The Lebanese leader said there was a “total convergence of views” between Paris and Beirut on Lebanese relations with Syria, and the wider Middle East peace process.

Sarkozy assured Sleiman of “France’s full support for efforts to consolidate the independence and unity of Lebanon,” the French presidency said.

Lebanon’s June 7 elections vote will be the first since the Western-backed parliamentary majority and the Syria- and Iran-backed opposition reached a deal in May 2008, ending a crisis that brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war.

A Lebanese government official told AFP the visit would also focus on French military and economic assistance to Lebanon.

France has 1,900 troops serving as part of a UN force in south Lebanon, although it announced in January plans to withdraw two warships monitoring waters off the Lebanese coast.

On Tuesday Sleiman was due to hold talks with Prime Minister Francois Fillon and visit both houses of parliament, before returning to Lebanon Wednesday.