Lebanon: Hezbollah and Sunni Leaders Meet to Discuss Unity
For the first time in over two years, Hezbollah and Sunni leaders met in Lebanon in order to address the issue of reconciliation between the two groups. Hezbollah’s Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and Sunni leader Saad Hariri met Sunday to discuss the path towards peace and unity, issuing a joint statement that emphasized “an affirmation of national unity and civil peace and the need to take all measures to prevent tension.” The meeting comes in the midst of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman’s continuing efforts to promote national reconciliation and unity, and follows months of preliminary meetings between lawmakers, but this is the first face-to-face meeting between Nasrallah and Hariri since the end of the Second Lebanon War. The months and years preceding the meeting have been marked by violence and tension between the groups, fueling fears of a backslide into civil war. Uncertainty still abounds, particularly as the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons has yet to be directly addressed, but according to their statement, both parties have affirmed their commitment “to reinforce dialogue and to avoid strife regardless of political differences.”
Stefanie Demetriades
