'New page' in Druze, Hezbollah relations
Druze leader Jumblatt meets Nasrallah emissary for reconciliation two years after conflict between sides; further reconciliatory meeting expected Monday with Maronite leader Aoun
Almost two years after the outbreak of violence in Lebanon during which Hezbollah sent fighters to the Druze stronghold in the Chouf Mountains, senior figures from the two sides met Sunday and agreed to "turn over a new leaf" in their relations.
Attending the meeting, which took place in the town of Choueifat, were leader of the Druze Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblatt, head of the Lebanese Democratic Party Talal Arslan, MP Mohammad Raad, leader of the Amal Shiite Movement Nabih Berri, and MP Ali Hassan Khalil.
Jumblatt said that there was no point in going back to how things were before May 7, 2008, when the conflict began. The violence, which started as a result of political disagreements including over communication lines operated by Hezbollah without Lebanese sovereign control, almost developed into civil war.
During the same period, Jumblatt spoke out strongly against Hezbollah, Syria and Iran, but he now speaks in a very different tone. After hinting at a new direction even before the elections, he has since met with Nasrallah to announce his defection from the anti-Syrian camp, improved his relations with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, and even thawed his relations with Damascus.
After all this, if there are no last-minute changes, Jumblatt is expected to hold a "sulha" – a meeting of reconciliation – with the Christian-Maronite leader Michel Aoun at Aoun's house in east Beirut. If all goes well, Jumblatt hopes, it will pave the way for an official visit to Damascus to turn another new leaf, this time with the Syrian president.
However, despite the political twists and turns Jumblatt has been performing recently, it seems that after the leader of his political camp PM Saad Hariri visited Damascus and spoke with President Assad, Jumblatt has finally realized which side of the equation is stronger. The political steps taken by one known in Lebanon for his sharp political senses only strengthen the impression regarding who is pulling the strings.
