Arabs "Reconcile"… Lebanon Awaits "Effects"

22 January 09 | Al Manar

Once again, Lebanon seems the first concerned with the running developments in the region…

Thus, an Arab "unexpected" verbal reconciliation cannot pass without influences in Lebanon, where the Arab conflicts were reflected on the ground for more than three years.

Indeed, and three years after Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that the key for solutions in the region could be reached by adopting the "S-S formula" in reference to Syria and Saudi Arabia, the Syrian-Saudi reconciliation has been achieved at the sidelines of an Arab summit in Kuwait.

But how would this long awaited reconciliation be reflected within the Lebanese scene?

According to Hezbollah politburo deputy head Mahmoud Qmaty, the Arab reconciliation would have, no doubts, effects in the Lebanese scene. However, Qmaty couldn't specify to Al-Manar the level of the repercussions of the reconciliation towards Lebanon, noting that the general atmosphere would be more democratic and tensions would decrease.

For his part, Future Movement MP Samir al-Jisr told Al-Manar that the reconciliation was comfortable, noting the Lebanese people were scared of a possible extended conflict caused by the Arab division over Gaza after the Doha summit. He said that the Arab reconciliation would reflect positively in Lebanon. Jisr stressed that his bloc was not in a conflict with the Syrian people, noting that the conflict was limited to the Syrian regime over its handling of the Lebanese issues. He said that Lebanon would remain a strategic depth for Lebanon.

In contrast, member of Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan stressed that the national unity was the major factor in the Lebanese stability. He noted that Lebanon's independence and sovereignty couldn't be protected by the internal provocations or the foreign interferences. Kanaan noted that one of his political bloc's strengths was that it depends only on its own beliefs and views. "We don't depend on a specific orchestra or on the others' beliefs," Kanaan told Al-Manar.

Meanwhile, some analysts noted that the reconciliations taking place here and there could have electoral dimensions on the eve of the elections, described by the major political factions as "fateful." But politicians refuse to give the reconciliations a mere electoral interpretation. In this context, Qmaty told Al-Manar that the reconciliations would not result in a major change in the actual political alliances. For his part, Jisr emphasized that the reconciliations would not necessarily have effects in the elections' process.