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| Either Wally Jumblatt or Professor Irwin Corey, I'm not sure which... |
While the first Bristol gathering, held in December, only called for a redeployment of the remaining 14,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon, on Wednesday the opposition agreed on an outright withdrawal. Some opposition members, particularly Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt, had been reluctant to use the word "withdrawal," arguing that the Syrian presence in the border area was necessary in light of the conflict with Israel. But sources said Wednesday the prominent opposition leader specifically called for the total withdrawal during the meeting. The opposition's new position comes a day after a visit to Beirut by Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, seen as the start of a new phase in bilateral relations, free of Syrian tutorage of Lebanon's politics through intelligence apparatus.
Moallem even met with opposition members Batroun MP Butros Harb and Metn MP Nassib Lahoud. But Qornet Shehwan Gathering member Samir Franjieh said there are two conditions for the opposition to start talks with Syria: that all the opposition is part of the discussions, and that Damascus respects its demands. Following the Bristol meeting, Jumblatt accused the Syrian authorities of maintaining their intelligence apparatus in Beirut, despite earlier claims that those services have been moved outside the capital. "I would like to make the following remark to Moallem that Beirut southern suburb's intelligence posts have been moved to Beau Rivage (a hotel in the center of Beirut) and Aley." "We ask those (Syrians) that next time they want to come here, they should bring with them tow-trucks. It would be better for us and better for them," Jumblatt said.