Lebanese leaders tackle core issues in Qatar

Doha: Rival leaders tackled divisive issues at the heart of Lebanon's political crisis on Saturday at Qatari-mediated talks aimed at pulling their country back from the brink of civil war.

Government and opposition leaders left a conference room separately in the morning, after 90 minutes of tense talks ending a standoff that has paralysed the government for 18 months and left Lebanon with no president since November.

Delegates said a six-member committee established at that session and asked to lay a framework for a new election law had already made progress.

Qatari Prime Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabr Al Thani is holding consultations to bring rival leaders closer to a deal on the framework for a new government.

"The impression, thank God, from the session, shows the desire among all the factions to reach an understanding ... that will bring us to the beginning of a solution to this crisis," Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told Voice of Lebanon radio.

"We have to have faith and trust that we will do the impossible until we find solutions to this difficult stage that Lebanon has faced in the past two weeks."

On Thursday, Arab mediators reached a deal to end Lebanon's worst internal fighting since the 1975-1990 civil war and create a framework for the talks hosted by Qatar.

The clashes killed 81 people and worsened sectarian tensions between Shiites and Druze and Sunni followers of the ruling coalition.

Washington blames Syria and Iran for Hezbollah's brief seizure of parts of Beirut last week which forced the government to rescind two decisions that had triggered the escalation.

The opposition has demanded more say in a Cabinet controlled by factions opposed to Syrian influence in Lebanon.

The ruling coalition's refusal to yield to the opposition's demand for veto power in Cabinet triggered the resignation of all Shiite ministers in November 2006, crippling a political system built around the delicate sectarian balance.

Core elements

Power-sharing in a new government and the basis of an election law are the core issues on the agenda. The ruling coalition also raised the matter of Hezbollah's weapons after the anti-Israel group turned its guns against political rivals.

Delegates said politicians from the ruling camp and Hezbollah had got into a heated debate over the prickliest issue and the one that led to the recent clashes - Hezbollah's arms. Shaikh Hamad intervened to end that debate, which he said should be postponed until after a deal is clinched to end the political stalemate and allow for the election of a president.

Hezbollah says its arms are meant to protect Lebanon against its Israeli foe. Opponents, trounced in the fighting, argue they undermine the sovereignty of the state.

"There is a real will on all sides; everyone lost with what happened. The winner [Hezbollah] is the bigger loser, because it opened up the important issue of the use of weapons," said Michel Pharaon, a minister in the government.

"It is imperative that there be discussions on the sovereignty of the state ..."