CAIRO, 12 May 2008 — Arab foreign ministers holding crisis talks in Cairo were divided yesterday over a draft resolution implicitly condemning Hezbollah for deadly clashes in Lebanon, delegates said. A draft resolution put before ministers underlined the Arab League’s “rejection of the use of armed violence to achieve political goals outside the framework of constitutional legitimacy, and the need for a withdrawal of all weapons from the streets,” according to a text obtained by AFP.
The text was drawn by Egypt and put forward with the support of six other Arab governments — Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, delegates said. They said Syria, which was represented by its ambassador to the Arab League, had objected to the draft.
The meeting followed days of lethal street battles in Lebanon.
The draft text also calls for a meeting of Lebanon’s political leaders to discuss a proposed initiative aimed at ending the political deadlock. It urges Lebanese politicians “to attend a meeting with a ministerial delegation yet to be formed in order to discuss the dangerous situation in Lebanon and draw up an urgent road map to implement the Arab initiative.”
The meeting would bring together three opposition leaders — Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, former President Michel Aoun and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah — with three pro-government politicians — Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri and former President Amin Gemayel.
Earlier, the Arab foreign ministers appealed for an end to violence.
“In view of the danger of the situation in Lebanon, the council of ministers sends out an urgent appeal for an immediate end to violence, shooting in Mount Lebanon and the withdrawal of gunmen in order to enable the army to deploy,” Ahmed Ben Helli, assistant secretary-general for political affairs, said reading from a statement.
