LEBANON: Putting off vote, yet again

So again, Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri postponed the sesssion to choose the country's next president. Lawmakers were supposed to convene today, but the session has been delayed until Feb. 11. That's the 13th postponement.

Although Lebanon's two feuding camps say they agree on army Gen. Michel Suleiman as the man for the top job, they continue to wrangle about the composition of the next government. In the background, Iran and Syria compete with the US and other Western powers for influence in this tiny country.

Lebanon has long been a proxy battleground. Today it struggles in vain to remain independent of the region's many conflicts.

In the latest chapter of  mediations to solve the crisis, the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, failed again in carrying through a compromise. After shuttling between Beirut and Damascus over the last week, Moussa admitted to reporters on Sunday that the Arab proposal has reached a "closed door", but added that "this door could still be opened."

His three-point plan calls for the immediate election of Suleiman and the drafting of a new electoral law. So far, no problem. But it also calls for a government where none of the rival groups has veto power. That's the problem.

The Western-backed camp insists on holding a majority of seats in the next government while the Hezbollah-led opposition, backed by Syria and Iran, demands a greater role in decision-making.

Lebanon's system is based on power-sharing agreement between the country's Christian, Sunni, Shiite and Druze religious groups.  The country has been without a President since Nov. 23, when pro-Syrian head of state Emile Lahoud stepped down.

The situation remains relatively calm but most analysts won't rule out a quick descent into violence between supporters of the two groups, especially since a string of car bomb attacks continues.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese are waiting with little faith for yet another meeting between Arab foreign ministers on Jan, 27 in Cairo, where the fate of Lebanon will be the top topic.

An editorial in Monday's Daily Star of Lebanon argued that it was the duty of Arab leaders to find a a way out for the Lebanese crisis:

There is also the matter of this country's having paid a dearer price for the conflict with Israel than any other. The failure of the Arabs to do much of anything useful to help end the plight of the occupied Palestinians has created pressures and volatility that are almost inevitably played out on Lebanese soil and paid for in Lebanese blood.

— Raed Rafei in Beirut

Photo: United Nations Lebanon commander Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano (fourth from left) stands with Lebanese, French and Italian counterparts during military maneuvers off the Lebanese coastal town of Naqura on Jan.19 2008.  The international community struggles to keep Lebanon from falling apart. EPA/STR