Kataeb chief in rare visit to south Lebanon

BEIRUT: Head of the Kataeb Party Amine Gemayel arrived in south Lebanon Saturday morning, his first official visit to the formerly occupied region since he was president in the 1980s.

"I am here in Qlaya, the land of nationalism, love and openness that has for so long embodied national unity and assimilation," Gemayel said at the Municipality building. "We are here to cooperate with any part so that the south can remain a symbol of love, unity and openness."

The Marjayoun village of Qlaya, where dozens of people tossed rice and flowers at Gemayel and an accompanying delegation, including Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi and former Minister Salim Sayegh, was the former president's first stop in the south Saturday.

Hezbollah and Amal Movement figures and parliamentarians welcomed Gemayel in Qlaya, only a few kilometers from the Israeli border.

Gemayel called on residents of the village to remain rooted on their land, praising them for their steadfastness and describing it as the true form of resistance.

Gemayel is also scheduled to visit Khalwet al-Bayadah, a predominantly Druze area, as well as the southern villages of Kawkaba, Khiam and Marjayoun, were he is expected to inaugurate a Kataeb office.

Gemayel is visiting the south as part of efforts to solidify dialogue between his Kataeb Party and the Shiite parties of Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah.

With tensions rising in the country due to the increasingly sectarian crisis in neighboring Syria, several Lebanese figures have launched dialogues, with the most anticipated talks between Hezbollah and the Future Movement.

Although the Kataeb, one of the main Christian parties in the March 14 alliance, is critical of Hezbollah’s role in Syria, the group launched a dialogue with the resistance group to ease tensions.

Political sources told The Daily Star Saturday that Speaker Nabih Berri had given his instructions to both Amal and Hezbollah officials in south Lebanon to offer Gemayel a warm welcome and accompany the Christian figure on his southern tour.

Gemayel will visit Khiam and most likely inspect the former Khiam detention center, used by Israel and its allies in south Lebanon. The center was first used as a prison during the French Mandate from 1918 to 1943. When Israel invaded in 1982, it took over the complex and placed it under the administration of the South Lebanese Army, a Christian, Israeli-proxy militia led by Antoine Lahad.