March 14 Rejects Dialogue Unless Suleiman Provides Guarantees Talks Would be Productive

The March 14-led opposition has said it would be useless to meet with the March 8 forces stressing that President Michel Suleiman should provide guarantees for a productive national dialogue before inviting for all party-talks at the Baabda palace.

High-ranking sources in al-Mustaqbal movement, the pillar of March 14, told As Safir newspaper Monday that the previous experience with dialogue was bad over the non-implementation of any decision reached between the conferees, including the international tribunal, the disarmament of Palestinians outside camps and the demarcation of the border with Syria.

“This pushes us to wonder about the benefit of undergoing the same experience if the circumstances of its success are not available yet,” the sources said.

“There is no need for more ink on the paper,” they said. “The ball is now in the court of the president who should provide guarantees for a productive dialogue.”

March 14 sources also told al-Joumhouria daily that pro-government forces should announce their commitment to the previous decisions reached at the dialogue table and only the country’s defense strategy should be on the agenda of the talks.

“The dialogue is useless if it is aimed at wasting time,” he said.

A high-ranking March 14 official told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that the opposition appreciates Suleiman’s call to relaunch dialogue but wondered its usefulness given that Hizbullah hasn’t suggested a document on its point of view of the country’s defense strategy.