Lebanese leaders resume "ice-breaking" talks amid debates

Lebanon's top politicians resumed all-party talks on Tuesday to discuss the demand by Hezbollah guerillas and its allies for the formation of a national unity government.

The round-table talks kicked off on Monday amid an abyss between Hezbollah and the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority who threatened to stage mass protests.

After the Monday talks, Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who hosts the talks in central Beirut, said that the atmosphere at the first session had been positive.

The participants had succeeded in "breaking the ice" and agreed on a "media truce" to stop attacking each other by media reports.

"It is necessary to reach a solution because we cannot stay in this situation. Everyone is keen to unite in order to resolve issues," Berri added.

All major political leaders attended the Tuesday's dialogue amid tight security, except for Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for safety reasons, who was represented by cabinet minister Mohammed Fneish as well as parliament members Mohammed Raad and Hussein Hajj Hassan.

Hezbollah is calling for the formation of a national unity government to "face up to the challenges with which Lebanon is confronted".

Nasrallah has said he wants his Shiite party, which has two ministers in the cabinet dominated by the ruling anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, and allies to comprise one-third of the cabinet. That effectively means that Hezbollah and its allies could veto key decisions.

A two-thirds vote in the cabinet is needed to pass decisions that are not made by consensus. A resignation of one-third of the cabinet automatically brings down the government.

Nasrallah has threatened that if talks fail, Hezbollah would " go to the streets" to demand a unity government and call for early parliamentary elections.

In response to Nasrallah's warning, anti-Syrian Christian leader Samir Geagea said his camp was ready to stage counter- protests.

The dialogue, launched in early March, had been scheduled for July 25. But the outbreak of the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah conflict on July 12 has prevented the resumption of the talks.

During the previous sessions, the political leaders failed to reach consensus on the future of Lebanese president Emile Lahoud, a staunch Syrian supporter, and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Last year, there were bombings to target anti-Syrian figures and commercial centers in Christian areas, killing two prominent anti-Syrian journalists and a politician.

The largest explosion was in Feb. 2005, killing former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others in central Beirut.

Anti-Syrian groups have accused Damascus of backing the bombings, an accusation denied by Syria which later was forced to withdraw its army from Lebanon.

Source: Xinhua