Lebanese President Emile Lahoud would not attend the upcoming Arab Summit due
in Algiers on March 22-23, the presidential office announced Saturday.
In a statement issued by the presidential office, Lahoud said that after
discussions with Primer Minister Omar Karami and Foreign Minister Mahmoud
Hamoud, he decided to cancel the trip considering the latest developments in the
country.
This year's AL summit, also dedicated to celebrate the 60th anniversary of
the bloc's establishment, came against a backdrop of an Arab world marked by
dramatic changes and was expected to solve some challenging issues faced by the
whole region.
The most thorny issue was Arab reforms, which triggered outcry among Arab
countries and led directly to a delay for the Tunisia summit last year.
Another contentious point focused on a Jordanian proposal, calling for an
Arab rapprochement with Israel, which drew opposition from some countries, the
Qatar-based al-Jazeera reported on its website.
Earlier in the day, Lahoud called for an immediate dialogue between the
opposition and the pro-Syrian groups, saying that the both sides should "live up
to their historic responsibilities to protect the higher interests of Lebanon."
At this sensitive stage, you should open an immediate and direct dialogue "to
lay out all the outstanding problems and reach a consensus in the interest of
Lebanon," he said.
Lahoud made the appeal just hours after a car bomb exploded in the eastern
suburb of Beirut around midnight.
Lebanon has been rocked by political turbulence following the assassination
of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14.
Hariri's killing stimulated the rift between the pro-Syrian groups and
Lebanese opposition, who blamed the assassination on Syria and called for the
withdrawal of Syrian troops from its territory.
The shock wave also forced the resignation of Omar Karami's government on
Feb. 28. But Karami was reappointed as prime minister shortly afterwards, partly
erasing the efforts by opposition to oust the pro-Syrian government.
