US, Lebanon ‘turn page’ after interview ban

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon said on Monday after meeting the country’s foreign minister that they have “turned the page” over a court ruling issued over the weekend barring local and foreign media from interviewing the envoy over her comments regarding Hizbollah.

A judge had ordered the year-long ban after US Ambassador Dorothy Shea told Saudi-owned TV station Al-hadath that Washington has “great concerns” over the Iran-backed group’s role in the government.

She said Lebanon is reeling from years of corruption of successive governments and accused Hizbollah of siphoning off government funds for its own purposes and of obstructing needed economic reforms. Critics viewed her comments as foreign interference in Lebanese affairs, but the judge’s ruling was also harshly criticised by many in Lebanon.

On Monday, Shea read a brief statement in which she said that her meeting with Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti was “positive.”

“We turned the page on this unfortunate distraction so we can all focus on the real crisis at hand, which is the deteriorating economic situation in Lebanon,” she said.

A few protesters held a sit-in outside the Foreign Ministry during the meeting.

The court ruling remains in effect but appears unlikely to be enforced.

The court decision by the Lebanese judge reflected the rising tension between the US and Hizbollah, and revealed a widening rift among groups in Lebanon amid the crisis.

Shea said the US stands ready and will continue to help the Lebanese people as the government takes the necessary steps to address the underlying causes of the crisis.

State-run National News Agency quoted Hitti as saying during the meeting that freedom of the press and opinion are a “sacred right” in the country.

Hitti, who had summoned Shea to the meeting, also said that it is important that Beirut and Washington continue their cooperation in all fields to help Lebanon weather the crisis. A senior member of Lebanon’s negotiating team with the IMF resigned as finance ministry director general on Monday, saying vested interests were undermining the government’s economic recovery plan.

Alain Bifani, who held the ministry post for 20 years, is the second member of Lebanon’s team at the International Monetary Fund talks to quit this month. His resignation underlines the obstacles facing the talks, which Lebanon entered in May, seeking help to tackle a financial crisis widely seen as the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-90 civil war.