Under the auspices of Swiss … the political forces are talking to the Chouf under the ceiling of Taif

At the invitation of the Swiss embassy, ​​in cooperation with the Organization of the “Humanitarian Dialogue Center”, a political retreat was held at the Mir Amin Palace in the Chouf for two days.
The retreat started on Friday evening with a dinner held by the Swiss Ambassador in Lebanon, Marion and Wittal Hagop Pakradonian and Representatives Ahmed Al -Khair, Ibrahim Munimna, Mark Daw and Faisal Karami. The next day, a dialogue session that spanned throughout the day was attended by Representative Faisal Al -Sayegh from the Progressive Socialist Party after Nasser participated in dinner the night before, instead of MP Wael Abu Faour, whose presence was not possible for reasons informed by the Swiss Ambassador.

According to the information that was nominated about the meeting, it aimed to enhance the exchange of ideas between the Lebanese political forces, as each party presented its vision on the outstanding files, especially with regard to commitment to the constitution, the Taif Agreement and the file of weapons. Extensive administrative decentralization and the election of a parliament on a national, not sectarian and formation of the Senate. It is not hidden that Switzerland has a long role in sponsoring political meetings in countries that witness crises and disputes, as it hosted in Lebanon the Geneva Dialogue (October 31, 1983), which was held under Saudi and Syrian sponsorship and included former President Amin Gemayel and representatives of the opposing political forces as it hosted a dialogue. Lausanne (12-20 March 1984), which came after military developments witnessed by Lebanon. In the meeting of Mir Amin, clear variations appeared in some approaches, which requires, according to the sources of the meeting, the continuation of this type of discussion that is scheduled to be held periodically, especially that its importance lies in collecting representatives of the various parties around one table for constructive discussion in a way that may contribute to facilitating the treatment of obstacles that prevent the application of the Taif Agreement. It presents ideas related to amending Taif or going to a new social contract, but everyone expressed the keenness to adhere to it and implement it. According to the atmosphere of the meeting, representatives of the Sunni blocs confirmed their commitment to Taif, while the representatives of Hezbollah and the Amal movement from the beginning stressed that the issue of weapons is discussed only with the state and within the framework of the defensive strategy. As for the representatives of the Christian parties, they announced their support for the application of Taif with a special focus on the need to accelerate the approval of administrative decentralization. Some Christian figures presented additional ideas, including linking reforms to the approval of a unified personal status system. Geneva, but the invitation was canceled at the time, after some parties considered a mistake that its aim is to amend the Taif Agreement in conjunction with the willingness of the Saudi embassy at the time to commemorate the thirty -third anniversary to conclude the agreement at the UNESCO Palace.