Jordan monarch, Lebanese president discuss cooperation, exchange of expertise, need to implement resolution 1701

Political, religious warnings against amending Taif Accord

Hariri expects great challenges, fundamental changes in Lebanon

Carter expresses readiness to monitor Lebanese parliamentary elections if there is consensus

President Michel Sleiman met with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman and discussed the latest international and regional developments.

A statement issued by the media office of the Lebanese president said that the “discussions covered all means of consolidating the friendly and cooperative relations between the two brethren countries at all levels.”

The two leaders “agreed on reviving the higher common Jordanian-Lebanese committee and reviewing the agreements reached between the two countries,” the statement said.

The statement said that “King Abdullah expressed satisfaction over the positive developments in Lebanon since the Doha agreement.”

He reiterated his support for “Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, dialogue, reconciliations and the national entente.”

The statement said that Sleiman and King Abdullah discussed “the dangers that threaten Lebanon because of Israel’s non-abidance by UNSCR 1701” and stressed Lebanon’ right to liberate the rest of its occupied land.

The two leaders also discussed means of confronting all forms of terrorism.

Sleiman, for his part, thanked Jordan’s king for the support his country has shown for Lebanon and stressed the deep ties between the two peoples.

Sleiman left Beirut for Jordan on a two-day official visit accompanied by the first lady, foreign minister Fawzi Salloukh, energy Minister Alain Tabourian and environment minister Antoine Karam.

Speaker Nabih Berri told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that the Taif Agreement played an important role in putting an end to the civil war but “included many question marks.”

He added that Taif is not “a sacred book” and could be amended however he affirmed that any amendment should not be finalized without reaching a consensus among Lebanese people.

He said he supported calls for giving the Lebanese president greater authority and powers, such as the right to dissolve parliament. Berri put one condition on this support, however, saying that the people should directly elect the president. He added that it would be illogical to give the president the right to dissolve parliament without this condition as it would contradict democracy by giving the president the right to disband those who elected him.

Berri also said that calls to amend an article, which currently gives the president only two weeks to act on any law submitted by the cabinet or it is automatically approved, was right. He also called for creating a defined time period for the prime minister and ministers to consider and approve laws, whom Berri added could currently obstruct work without being held accountable.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani warned Monday that divergence from fundamentalist views of the Taif Accord would lead to chaos.

"Peace among the Lebanese … cannot be achieved without state institutions and a nation of law capable of imposing peace, security and safety," Qabbani said during Eid el-Adha sermon.

He stressed that the strategy of the state is one of "liberation, freedom, construction as well as national and human coexistence."

"While contradictory strategies," Qabbani went on to say, "are strategies of partition, subordination, fear, confrontation and conflicts as well as destruction."

He reminded the people of the Taif agreement which was the result of a "national and popular Lebanese will that stood against calls for partition and separation."

"Divergence from fundamentalist views of the Taif Accord is a walk in the unknown, a walk into chaos," Qabbani warned from Mohammed al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut.

"If the Palestinian issue is resolved with justice and a respect for human rights, a great deal of animosity would be alleviated,” former US President Jimmy Carter told a captive audience, “not just for this region, but throughout the world.”

Carter, the 39th President of the United States and winner of the Noble Peace Prize in 1992, spoke at the American University of Beirut to a packed yet enthusiastic audience. His talk was part of the Distinguished Peacemakers lecture series, hosted by the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, which brings internationally-known diplomats and mediators to Beirut to discuss their strategies for resolving conflict in long-standing political stalemates. Carter, for his part, focused on one of the world’s most complicated and controversial topics: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It is imperative, Carter argued, for the United Sates to assume an active leadership role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, as it did under his administration in the late 1970s, and not “default on its obligations” by continually deferring involvement until late into presidential terms, as recent administrations have. However, Carter expressed confidence that US President-elect Barack Obama possesses the “political courage” to reinvigorate the peace process, noting that Obama had “personally assured” him of his commitment to pursuing an equitable peace between the opposing sides.

Carter’s appearance concluded his four-day visit to Lebanon, the purpose of which was to determine if his foundation, The Carter Center, will send a monitoring team to oversee Lebanon’s 2009 parliamentary elections to ensure their transparency and “discourage any intimidation from any side during the process.” If permitted, the Carter Center would soon send several “long-term observers” to develop an expertise of Lebanon’s election system, and would then supervise a wider team that would be put in place in the weeks before the polling to work alongside other international representatives.

During his four days in Lebanon , Carter also met with President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and the leaders of several political factions, excluding, quite notably, Hezbollah, who declined the former president’s offer but did not object to the Carter Center’s proposed monitoring.

In keeping with the lecture’s theme, “30 Years After Camp David,” Carter recounted his role as negotiator between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1979. His frank presentation highlighted the role of personal engagement among leaders, noting that at one point late in the negotiation process, he “thought we’d failed.” Yet despite the “seeming impossibilities” of each side’s demands, persistent efforts led to an Israeli-Egyptian peace that, Cater noted, “has not ever been violated by either side.”

However, Carter expressed regret that certain verbal agreements made by the Israelis concerning the Palestinians were never implemented and that treatment of the Palestinians “has grown worse” in subsequent decades, prompting him to write his 2006 book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid.

The book, a bestseller, has been highly controversial for the term “apartheid,” which Carter defended during Friday’s lecture, saying it refers to “two people who occupy the same land but with separation, and one dominates that other.”

Cater has indicated that the book was meant to stir debate within the United States by documenting the plight of daily life inside the West Bank and Gaza strip while still acknowledging the necessity of Israeli security.

No ex-US president has continued to engage himself as actively and seriously Carter in the 28 years since his leaving office. This stems from Carter’s sense of conviction that he can continue to make a real difference for nations in conflict and the people who suffer within them.

As a statesman who has presented a new vision for the role of an ex-president, Carter is in a unique position to act as a either facilitator or foil to current office holders who must operate within the confines of diplomatic protocol. One particularly controversial role Carter seems to relish is his ability to meet with adversaries of US policy who sitting officials must avoid. As a figure who demands the attention of leaders both at home and abroad, Carter’s diplomacy can be a powerful tool of independent or backchannel diplomacy.

However, the ambiguity of an ex-president’s positions vis-à-vis formal national policy can cut both ways, as evidenced by the fact that many US politicians distanced themselves from Carter after the publication of his book and his meeting last year with Hamas leaders in exile in Syria.

Discussing these controversies with the humility of a man who has “lived in the same village his entire life, on the same land I still cultivate,” Carter said he continues an active public life at 82 years of age out of a real belief based in his Christian values that “peace remains possible in accordance with justice.” Hopefully, his vision of transparency, peace and justice will have a positive impact on the way the 2009 parliamentary elections are conducted.

Former US President Jimmy Carter said after meeting with President Michel Suleiman at the Republican Palace in Baabda that he hoped the 2009 parliamentary elections would be transparent and take place on schedule.

Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said the visiting former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has not asked for supervising the forthcoming parliamentary elections nor was he was asked to do so.

Baroud, talking to reporters after Carter arrived, said the former U.S. head of state says he wants to take part in "following up the elections, similar to what has happened in a number of countries." Baroud said his initial response to such a request is "positive. But it is the cabinet that decides on such issues."

"I believe it is in the interest of Lebanon to open the door to any observation in this regard, provided it is serious," the interior minister explained.

"We'll listen to what Carter has to say and we would be very positive," he concluded.

Carter later visited UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura where he was welcomed by UNFIL Commander General Claudio Graziano.

The former president traveled to the southern town of Msayleh for a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who leads the Amal Movement, before returning to Beirut to speak at AUB. Carter praised Berri for "keeping the government together and advocating national dialogue."

He added that he was optimistic about Lebanon's future, calling on US President-elect Barack Obama to give priority to achieving "peace in this area of the world."

Asked by reporters if he wished to send any message to Hezbollah, Carter said that he hoped the resistance would cooperate with other parties for the future of Lebanon.

For his part, Berri praised Carter for "trying to improve the image of the United States."

Carter arrived in Msayleh aboard a helicopter belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

The peacekeeping force's commander General Claudio Graziano, later joined Carter at the speaker's residence.

Despite Hezbollah's refusal to meet with him, Carter has offered to send an election monitoring team to oversee parliamentary elections scheduled for next spring. The vote is expected to be extremely close, with the Hezbollah-led opposition hoping to topple the governing March 14 coalition.

If approved by the cabinet, the monitoring team would be run through the Carter Center, the not-for-profit human rights organization that Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, founded after he left office.

The center has deployed monitoring teams to elections around the world.

Earlier this year, Carter held controversial talks with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, despite vocal opposition from US and Israeli officials.

A Hamas source said that Carter planned to meet with officials from the group to discuss the case of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who has been held prisoner by the group for more than two years. Carter's last meeting with Hamas facilitated the delivery of a handwritten letter from Shalit to his parents.

Since leaving office, Carter has dedicated his time to working on the Middle East peace process. In September 1978, under Carter's presidency, then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords, establishing peace between Egypt and Israel after nearly 30 years of intermittent conflict.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter predicted an improvement in U.S.-Syrian relations under President-elect Barack Obama and expressed hope that full diplomatic relations would be restored.

Carter spoke to reporters in Damascus following a meeting he held with President Bashar Assad. He said they had also discussed the reopening of an American school and a U.S. cultural center in Damascus shut down by Syrian authorities following a deadly U.S. raid in October on a village in northern Syria near the Iraqi border.

U.S. officials said the raid targeted a militant leader. Damascus says eight civilians died.

Carter said he had "full confidence" that Obama will carry out the promises he made during his campaign. "I don't have any doubt that the situation will improve between the United States and Syria after we have a new president," he said.

The former U.S. president said he hoped a new U.S. ambassador would be sent to Damascus soon. "It's my hope that we can also see full diplomatic relations and friendship restored between Damascus and Washington at an early day in the new year."

Washington had pulled out its ambassador from Syria following the 2005 assassination in Beirut of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, for which Damascus was widely blamed. Syria strongly denies the accusations.

Carter arrived in Syria from neighboring Lebanon where he spent five days talking to political leaders and offered that his Atlanta-based Carter Center monitor parliament elections there next year.

In his meeting with Assad, Carter discussed prospects for peace in the Middle East. He said Israel is sincere in wanting peace with Syria but stressed that no "genuine peace" could be achieved unless Israel withdrew from Arab territories it occupies in Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

"You can't expect genuine peace between Israel and any of its neighbors until it has peace with all of its neighbors," he said.

Syria and Israel this year held four rounds of indirect talks mediated by Turkey, but the talks made no significant headway and it is not clear when the talks would resume.