DUBAI (Agencies)
Lebanon's army chief, who is poised to become the country's new president, urged for national unity after feuding politicians agreed to end 18 months of conflict, a newspaper reported on Friday.
"I cannot save the country alone. This mission requires the efforts of all," General Michel Suleiman told as-Safir newspaper.
"Security is not achieved with muscles, but joint political will," Suleiman said. "We have to fortify ourselves politically and in terms of security through internal unity," he said.
Parliament is set to confirm Suleiman as head of state on Sunday, filling a post left vacant since November because of a political conflict which triggered the worst civil strife since the 1975-90 war.
The conflict between the U.S.-backed ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition was brought to an end by a deal mediated in Qatar this week. The agreement paved the way for Suleiman's election and the formation of a new government.
The new president will chair talks among the rivals on issues at the heart of the conflict, including Hezbollah's arms.
The crisis has undermined stability, which has also suffered from assassinations, bomb attacks, a war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 and a militant Islamist insurrection in 2007.
The opposition will have effective veto power in a new cabinet to be formed after Suleiman's election. The sides also agreed on a law defining electoral districts for the 2009 parliamentary polls. |
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New presidential tenant Meanwhile staff at Lebanon's Baabda presidential palace, empty for six months, are feverishly preparing for the long-awaited arrival of a new tenant, mowing the lawn, cleaning windows and dusting the chandeliers.
"Everything is ready -- even the beds are made," said Naji Kozayly of the presidential media department.
Presidential spokesman Rafic Chlala said that no sooner had news of the Doha accord ending the presidential standoff been announced on Wednesday than staff at Baabda got down to work.
"We had shut down the presidential wing but now it's coming back to life," he said. "Come Sunday the national flag will once again fly high over the palace with the election of the new president and the fountain will be filled with water."
After his election, Suleiman, 59, will move into the so-called Baabda Palace, a modern-style building built in the 1950s southeast of Beirut.
The complex has been empty since November 23, when Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term with no elected successor because of the standoff between rival political leaders.
On Thursday, however, the grounds were buzzing with activity as workers mowed the lush lawn on which every foreign head of state who visits traditionally plants a cedar tree, the national emblem.
Inside the palace, staff washed windows while others dusted the crystal chandeliers and the presidential chair.
The 84 palace employees, cell phones glued to their ears, hurried up and down white marble hallways lined with Roman statues.
"The private apartments of the president and his family await their arrival," said Kozayly. "There are 20 rooms plus several bathrooms and kitchens."
He said the wing, off-limits to the public, had been redecorated in a simple yet elegant style by Lahoud during his term.
In the private gardens is a pool installed by former president Amin Gemayel.
"I don't know if Suleiman likes swimming, but Lahoud made great use of the pool," said Kozayly. |
