Concise Summary of Lebanese News

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REMINDER to ALL: Lebanon shamelessly left without a President from November 23, 2007 until ???

Thursday, February 14, 2008 - A rally is scheduled by the March 14 ruling majority alliance to commemorate the third anniversary of the assassination of Rafik Al Hariri.

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Sunday, February 10, 2008 - Walid Jumblatt welcomes return to 'war and chaos' in Lebanon and warns Hezballah that March 14 is ready for war and peace.  Two followers of Walid Jumbaltt when they came under fire from followers of rival Druze leader Talal Arslan. The incident came moments after occupants of a car from the Future Movement shot at soldiers manning the entrance of the residence of Nabih Berri.

Saturday, February 9, 2008 - A parliamentary vote to elect Lebanon's president has been delayed for a 14th time by Nabih Berri until February 26, 2008.

Saturday, February 2, 2008 - Fairouz Ignores Critics and performs in Damascus designated by UNESCO as the Arab capital of culture for 2008.

Sunday, 27 January 2008 - Seven killed in Beirut violence. As fighting spread in Beirut, sporadic gunfire was heard and the airport road was temporarily blocked by tires.

Friday, 25 January 2008  - A bomb has killed Capt Wissam Eid who was spearheading inquiries into a series of bombings in Lebanon since 2004.

Friday  December  28, 2007 - Presidential election was postponed to January 12, 2008, Nabih Berri  said on Friday, in the 11th delay to the vote.

Saturday  December  22, 2007 - Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri postponed, until December 29, a session of Parliament to elect Lebanon's next president

Tuesday  December  18, 2007 - Presidential election postponed until Saturday.

Rest In Peace - Brigadier General Francois El Hajj

Wednesday  December  12, 2007 - Army Brigadier General Francois al-Hajj and 5 others were killed in a rush hour blast in front of a municipal government building near the presidential palace in the Christian area of Baabda.

- Gen Francois al-Hajj was to become army chief when General Michel Suleiman takes over as president.

Monday  December  10, 2007 - Presidential election postponed until next week.

Sunday  December  9, 2007 - Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir gave his backing to a constitutional amendment to help elect army commander Michel Suleiman as president. "Having a constitution amendment is much better than having a political vacuum in the country," Sfeir said in his Sunday mass.

Saturday  December  8, 2007 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a telephone conversation this week not to interfere Lebanon's prolonged effort to choose a president.

Friday  December  7, 2007 - Lebanese political leaders have failed to agree on having the country's army chief elected as president. Suleiman had emerged as a possible consensus candidate.

The March 14 majority declared its support for Suleiman on Sunday, dropping its opposition to a constitutional amendment needed to allow a senior public servant to become president.

However, General Michel Aoun said that he would only endorse Suleiman for two years until parliamentary elections in 2009. He accused the ruling March 14 majority of being responsible for the deadlock.  "I have made enough compromises and I will add a new demand every day," Aoun said.

- Twin House sessions planned for Tuesday December 11, 2007;one to amend the Lebanese  Constitution,  and one to fill top post
 

Sunday  December 2, 2007 - Progress is made in a deal between rival Lebanese leaders to elect the next Lebanese president on Friday December 7, 2007.  General Michel Suleiman is still the frontrunner.

- 14 March is in agreement to elect General Michel Suleiman.

- Amendment of the Constitution is expected to take place on Wednesday.

Friday  November  30, 2007 - Speaker Nabih Berri postpones the Presidential vote again one more week until December 7, 2007. 

- General Michel Aoun joins politicians from various groups in saying he would back Army Chief General Michel Sleiman for President.

- General Suleiman, 59, has won the trust of Hezbollah and the opposition in large measure through his cooperation with the militia since the 2006 war with Israel. The Lebanese Army deployed more than 10,000 soldiers to southern Lebanon after the cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, and it has coordinated with Hezbollah’s fighters to minimize friction on the ground.

- However, General Sleiman's election would require an Amendment to the Lebanese Constitution as the Constitution does not allow a civil servant to run for president.

Saturday  November  24, 2007 - President Emile Lahoud officially left the Baabda Palace. repeating that his presidential decree was issued in consideration of the lack of legitimacy of the acting government since November 2006, when six cabinet ministers resigned.

- Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet immediately declared that his government would not respect the presidential decree considering it unconstitutional and that the acting government would take over presidential powers until a new president is elected.

- Preparing for possible outbreaks of violence 80,000 Lebanese army troops have been deployed in the country to maintain public security.

Friday  November  23, 2007 - The Lebanese parliament failed to secure the necessary two-thirds quorum to begin voting and elect a successor to President Emile Lahoud today.  Such failure puts the country in a potentially explosive political vacuum. The parliamentary session was postponed until Friday November 30, to give more time "for additional consultations to reach a consensus on electing a president."

- Scheduling another session in a week as talks between the two sides continue could defuse for now any potential street confrontations.

- President Emile Lahoud, whose term will expire at midnight (Beirut Local Time), declared a state of emergency and ordered the Lebanese army to take control.

- As stipulated by the Lebanese constitution, the Lebanese cabinet headed by Fouad Sanioura (Sunnite-Moslem) will temporarily assume executive powers and responsibilities until a new president is elected by Lebanon's Parliament.  This crisis marks a milestone in Christian decline in Lebanon.  For Christians, the crisis symbolizes the erosion of their political power which had already been curbed by the Taif Agreement that ended the 1975-1990 civil war.

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