Lebanon's parliament will try to elect a new president on May 13, the speaker said on Saturday, the 19th attempt to hold the vote. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri postponed the session for an 18th time on Tuesday. The Lebanese rivals have agreed army chief General Michel Suleiman should fill the presidency, vacant since the term of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud expired in November.
In a related development, Druze leader Walid Jumblat was quoted Saturday as saying he supports dialogue with Berri as "the Shiite leader who is most prepared to discuss a settlement to the crisis." Jumblat, who heads the Progressive Socialist Party, said "dialogue prevents the escalation of street tension. Our main concern is to prevent street violence because tension is high."
Jumblat, in comments published by the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, said dialogue "allows the March 14 forces to reaffirm commitment to decisions adopted during the first dialogue conference and to adopt a mechanism to implementing them regarding diplomatic relations with Syria, border demarcation starting with Shebaa Farms and eliminating weapons controlled by Palestinians outside the refugee camps in addition to controlling weapons within the camps."
Jail riots
Meanwhile, calm returned to Lebanon's largest prison on Friday, a day after scores of inmates set their clothes on fire and took guards hostage to demand better conditions and reduced sentences.
Seven policemen who were taken hostage were freed early Friday after nine hours of negotiations between senior police officers and representatives of the rioting inmates at Roumieh prison, according to a police statement, cited by the AP.
The prisoners returned to their cells Friday amid tight security to prevent additional rioting, the statement added.
Interior Minister Hassan Sabei acknowledged overcrowding at Roumieh prison, located east of Beirut, and vowed to improve the inmates' conditions by expanding the prison complex. "The government is trying to take necessary measures to expand the prison to provide more space for the prisoners," Sabei said in a television interview Friday with Lebanese Broadcasting Corp.
Thursday's riots began when prisoners attacked their guards and took some of them hostage, the officials said. Some of the 200 rioting prisoners set their clothes on fire and black smoke was seen billowing from the building for some time.
