The Lebanese government met again Thursday to discuss the thorny question of the disarmament of Hezbollah, the day after the rejection by the Shiite movement of the decision to confiscate its weapons.
Under pressure from the United States and faced with the fears of an intensification of Israeli attacks in Lebanon, the government had instructed the army on Tuesday to prepare a plan to disarm by the end of the year the Islamist movement supported by Iran.
Thursday’s meeting was devoted to examining a memorandum brought by the American emissary, Tom Barrack, including a disarmament calendar. According to information Minister Paul Morcos, the government has approved the introduction of the American text, but without discussing specific deadlines. The American emissary welcomed Lebanon on Thursday for its “historic, daring and just” decision.
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot has in the wake Beirut Felicitus for his “courageous and historical decision”, which, according to him, should allow him to “go to full sovereignty”.
The four Shiite ministers present in the meeting on Thursday, including two affiliates in Hezbollah, one to the Amal movement, his ally, and an independent, withdrew before the end of the meeting to protest the decision to disarm the movement, according to the Movement television, Al-Manar.
