Last update - 00:00 25/03/2008
Lebanon minister confirms gov't will boycott Arab summit
By Reuters
Lebanon's Information Minister Ghazi Aridi confirmed Tuesday that Lebanon will boycott this month's Arab summit in Syria.
Aridi said one of the main reasons for boycotting the meeting was the parliament's failure to elect a new Lebanese president. Many members of Lebanon's pro-Western majority blame Syria for working with the country's opposition to block the election. Syria denies the accusation.
"It is a regrettable precedent that was imposed on us... for the first time in the history of Arab summits," said Aridi, reading from a Cabinet statement.
Aridi said Lebanon viewed the boycott as necessary to protect the country's sovereignty and fight against interference in its internal affairs.
Anti-Syrian politicians blame Damascus for many of Lebanon's recent bombings, including that of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. His assassination triggered political upheaval and international pressure that forced Syria to withdraw its army from Lebanon that same year, ending almost three decades of domination of its smaller neighbor.
Tuesday's decision to boycott the conference was widely expected after Saudi Arabia announced the day before that it was sending a lower level official to the meeting rather than the king.
Lebanon has never before boycotted the annual Arab meeting.
The Beirut government also blames Syria and its Lebanese allies, led by Hezbollah, for the crisis that has paralyzed government and left the country without a president for the first time since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.
Saudi Arabia decided on Monday to send its permanent Arab League representative to the Damascus summit - effectively a snub of a meeting that should bring together heads of state.
Like Saudi King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is also not expected to attend the summit. Both Arab powers are key allies of the United States, which also supports Siniora's government and accuses Syria of meddling in Lebanon.
Syria's allies in Lebanon accuse the governing coalition of being no more than tools of U.S. foreign policy and say that Washington has derailed initiatives to resolve the conflict.
The rival Lebanese alliances have agreed that army chief General Michel Suleiman should fill the presidency, which is reserved for a Maronite Christian according to Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system.
But his confirmation by a vote in parliament has been held up by a dispute over seats in a new cabinet. The governing alliance has refused to yield to the opposition's demand for effective veto power in government.
Parliament had been due to convene on Tuesday to elect Suleiman but the session was postponed on Monday to April 22 in the absence of any deal. It was the 17th official postponement of the presidential election.