UN chief insists steps to create hariri tribunal are 'irreversible'

Visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged rival Lebanese leaders Thursday to set aside their differences and proceed with the election by next week of a consensus president with the "broadest possible acceptance" by the public. "A free and fair election of a new president appointed through constitutional rules, without foreign interference, is a milestone for the development of Lebanon as a vibrant democracy," Ban told reporters upon his arrival in Beirut on Thursday.

Ban is in Lebanon along with UN special envoy to the Middle East Terje Roed-Larsen to meet with senior Lebanese leaders to facilitate the election of a new head of state on time and in accordance with the Lebanese Constitution.

"The election of a new president should take place on time and in accordance with constitutional procedures," Ban said.

"It constitutes a pillar in its aspiration to recover its full political independence and sovereignty and to secure its territorial integrity," he added.

Ban met with Speaker and opposition leader Nabih Berri, and is scheduled to hold talks with Premier Fouad Siniora, parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir.

Ban is also expected to meet with Christian leaders in Lebanon, where the president has to be a Maronite in accordance to the Constitution.

Ban's arrival to Lebanon follows that of France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who convinced Sfeir to draw up a list of candidates whose names could then be hashed over by the majority and opposition.

Ever since then, speculations have run rampant about which names are on the list, and whether the list has already been given to Hariri and Berri.

Ban also stressed that the efforts to establish an international court to try those behind the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others were "irreversible."

"I want to assure you that the process for establishing the tribunal is irreversible and I am doing my best to expedite this process," said Ban.

Ban also said he is planning to discuss with officials the recent appointment of Daniel Bellemare, of Canada, to replace Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz as head of the UN probe into the assassination.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema is also expected in Beirut on Friday to push the feuding sides to agree.

Kouchner is also due to return next week - for his sixth visit in as many months - to ensure the vote goes through.

Meanwhile, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun called on Hariri to "preserve national unity" as he would be the first one to suffer from any destabilization.

"Hariri's rejection of my presidential candidacy because of my alliance with Hizbullah is a hostile and harmful declaration," Aoun told reporters in a news conference Thursday.

Aoun called on all Lebanese to reject "US policy" in Lebanon and the election of a president that would cause a strife in the country. "We will not endorse any president, even if elected with a two-thirds majority, if he does not have popular support," Aoun said.

"We do not fear the use of guns, but we hate to use them," Aoun added.

Meanwhile, Hariri noted the possibility of Aoun playing a "uniting role" in bringing all the Lebanese together and playing the "father-figure role" with the March 14 forces.

"Aoun believes in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, international resolutions and the Paris III economic conference," Hariri told France Inter radio station on Thursday.

"Both of us have committed mistakes against each other. We should have cooperated to preserve the day of March 14," Hariri said.

"The Quadripartite alliance between Future, the Lebanese Forces, Hizbullah and Amal Movement had the same goals as Aoun's vis-a-vis Hizbullah," declared Hariri.

"But when it came to Lebanon's sovereignty and independence, the establishment of the Special Tribunal and Syrian interference in Lebanon, Hizbullah had nothing to offer," he added.

In related news, Siniora reiterated his hope that the Parliament session does convene on November 21, and a new head of state gets elected.

"Ban's visit to Lebanon is a strong message in this regard," Siniora told reporters Thursday.

Commenting on Nasrallah's recent request to President Emile Lahoud to take necessary measures, Siniora stated that someone is urging the president to violate the Constitution.

"President Emile Lahoud is entrusted with preserving the Constitution, and the government is looking forward to handing over authority to a new president according to the Constitution," said Siniora.

Siniora also stressed the importance of electing a president without foreign interference, echoing the recent statements made by Kouchner and Ban.

"Diplomats visiting Lebanon are encouraging the Lebanese to reach an agreement. Not a single delegation is interfering in presidential candidates' names," he said. - With agencies

Arab League chief skips Beirut visit following talks with Assad in damascus

DAMASCUS: Head of the Arab League Amr Moussa left Syria on Thursday without stopping in Beirut as initially expected after holding an "important" meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in which he stressed that Arabs were "united" over the importance of electing a consensual president in Lebanon on time.

Speaking to the media after meeting with Assad and senior Syrian officials in Damascus, Moussa said that they "basically discussed Lebanon," but the Iraqi and Palestinian files had "of course" also been on the agenda.

The Arab League chief was in Syria for two days for talks on the upcoming Middle East peace conference in the United States and Lebanon's presidential election, which has already been delayed three times.

"It was an important and positive meeting," Moussa said about his meeting with the Syrian president.

"Lebanon is going through a very sensitive time, and we all agreed that it is important that they agree on a consensus president and a solution is found to the ongoing crisis," said Moussa.

He also stressed that the Lebanese situation was an important one to the Arab world, as "the stance that Lebanon undertakes is an Arab stance."

There are reports that Moussa might come back to Lebanon on the last days of the current president's term.

By Rym Ghazal