Lebanon will not attend Arab summit

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanon has decided not to take part in this week's Arab summit in Damascus because of Syria's negative role in the country's protracted presidential crisis, a cabinet minister said on Tuesday.

"The Council of Ministers has decided against Lebanon's participation in the Arab summit scheduled for March 29 in Damascus," Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after the cabinet meeting.

"This is is a regrettable precedent that was imposed upon us," he added, accusing Syria of being directly responsible for the current stand-off between the pro- and anti-Syrian camps and of causing the presidential vaccuum.

"By not taking part in the summit, Lebanon wanted to reaffirm that it should be represented by its head of state at such a meeting and that the Lebanese were unwilling to accept the status quo," Aridi said.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080325/wl_mideast_afp/arabsummitlebanon_080325204456

[ohio2007]

1. Syria tightens controls on Internet use ;

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria is cracking down more on Internet use, imposing tighter monitoring of citizens who link to the Web, as well as jailing bloggers who criticize the government and blocking YouTube and other Web sites deemed harmful to state security.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=103437

[mallard]

2. This won't bode well with most Lebanese

They're pandering to the Bushco anti-Syria trip for ... the standing Beirut adminstration's own shaky sense of security. The relationship can only cost them at this point, since most Christian Lebanese aren't much more interested in an alliance with the current US warmonger regime than are the Muslims.

Participate and make your bitch and moan loudly, dummies.


Article - quoting Information Minister Ghazi Aridi:

"'This is is a regrettable precedent that was imposed upon us,' he added, accusing Syria of being directly responsible for the current stand-off between the pro- and anti-Syrian camps and of causing the presidential vaccuum."


Go up there and make your case!

Say good-bye to peaceful Lebanon - once again?