“France wants a president for Lebanon “ Sarkozy said

“We will end our contacts with Syria until such a time when we will have solid proof that Syria has left the Lebanese alone to allow them to elect the compromise candidate they have chosen “. He told reporters after his meeting with the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

During the French mediation effort by its Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner ,Syria tried to manipulate the French to achieve its objectives in Lebanon but France discovered Syria’s intentions soon and prevented Syria from scoring any points in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s PSP leader Walid Jumblatt criticized the French mediation effort and faulted them for giving legitimacy to the “corrupt Assad regime”

Syria occupied Lebanon for nearly 3 decades but was forced out in 2005 following the assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri . Syria was blamed for the assassination but it denied any wrongdoing.

Hariri ‘s assassination came after Syrian president Bashar Assad threatened to destroy Lebanon if he ( Hariri) did not vote for extending the term of the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud , whom Assad called “ my personal representative in Lebanon . Hariri eventually did vote for the extension but many of his friends like Jumblatt didn’t .

According to analysts Assad is now trying to do the same in Lebanon. He is trying to prevent the election of the candidate chosen by the anti-Syrian majority , because he wants any new president to be picked by Syria and its allies , so that the president will do exactly what he is told by Syria , just as Lahoud did.

General Michel Suleiman was appointed by Syria as the head of the Lebanese army during the Syrian occupation , but because the parliament majority nominated him as the compromise candidate , Syria blocked his election . The election of a president in Lebanon has been delayed 11 times by the pro-Syrian Speaker Nabih Berri. Lebanon has been without a president since November 23.

Tags: Assad, Berri, Hariri, Jumblatt, Lebanon, mubarak, President, Sarkozy, Suleiman, Syria