Honesty and reconciliation .. Meeting ends the crisis of the government in Lebanon

Afif Diab-Beirut

The meeting of frankness and reconciliation held at the Lebanese Presidential Palace ended the political crisis that has afflicted Lebanon for 40 days as a result of the incident of Qabrshmoun-Al-Basateen in Mount Lebanon between the Lebanese Democratic and Progressive Socialist parties, which resulted in deaths and injuries on both sides.

The meeting between the leaders of the two parties, Walid Jumblatt and Talal Arslan, which was held under the auspices of the Presidents of the Republic, Parliament and the Government, was the first result of the Cabinet's reconvening, as well as the establishment of a mechanism to deal with the tails of the incident at the political, judicial and security levels.

The endeavors succeeded in bringing the two men closer, reaching a path of political reconciliation between the two parties, and putting the mountain incident on its judicial track through the military court after Arslan was demanding that it be brought to the highest judicial body in the country (the Justice Council), and addressing the security repercussions of the incident.

American statement
Three days before the meeting of openness and reconciliation, a statement was issued by the US Embassy in Beirut calling for the judicial incident to be addressed without any political interference.

The statement said the United States had "expressed in clear terms to the Lebanese authorities its expectation to deal with this matter in a manner that achieves justice without inciting sectarian and regional strife with political backgrounds."

Sources in Beirut described this statement as a precedent in diplomatic norms, and that, once issued by the Washington Embassy, ​​he “hastened to find a political solution to the crisis, especially since the president had described the incident as an ambush by his brother-in-law, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, after the country lived as a dispute between Progressive Social Democratic and Lebanese Parties.

The sources added to the island that the political escalation before the meeting of frankness and reconciliation "was a warning of the worsening of the security and financial situation, and that everyone felt the dangers of this, and the US statement to form a pressure on everyone to sit together and negotiate and find a political solution to the incident."

Economic intimidation
In this regard, writer and political analyst Amin Qamouriyeh said the US embassy statement was "clear and harsh and everyone understood the message."

He adds to the island Net that things after the incident of the mountain reached the red line, and that the breakdown of the government contract was threatening the country, "explaining that everyone felt the danger and therefore had to be concessions.

He says that Arslan has dropped his demand to transfer the case to the Justice Council, and that Jumblatt no longer objected not to visit the presidential palace, and President Michel Aoun abandoned the saying that he is not a clan leader to reconcile between different forces.

According to Qumouriyeh, the breakthrough of the crisis has external dimensions that played its role, including the statement of the US embassy, ​​pointing out that the leaders in Lebanon have received international warnings against the continuation of the political dispute as a result of the mountain incident.These warnings that the economic umbrella secured to protect Lebanon financially "may be lifted."

A new stage?
Observers considered that the meeting of frankness and reconciliation - which resulted in a meeting of the government after the agreement yesterday that no one of the ministers to address the incident of the mountain - has caused satisfaction in the country.

Minister of Information Jamal Jarrah said after the meeting, citing the president that the latter assured the ministers that the political part of the mountain incident has ended well, and establishes a new phase in which more cooperation and political stability in the interest of Lebanon.

Al-Jarrah added, citing Aoun, that the judicial track of the incident took its way through the military court, which will continue the investigations and submit its findings to the cabinet to take the appropriate decision.