Maronite Bishops Chide Lebanese Leaders

 

By Maroun Khoury

Beirut – Daily Star — The Council of Maronite Bishops called Wednesday for electing a new president “on time” and according to “constitutional conditions” to spare the country a political vacuum and the “dangerous chaos” that would follow.

In a statement issued after its monthly meeting in Bkirki, chaired by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, the council chided both the ruling March 14 coalition and the Hizbullah-led March 8 opposition for failing to agree on a consensus candidate for the presidency. Parliament gathered for the vote on September 25 but did not open the session due to the insufficient number of MPs in attendance, and the chamber adjourned until October 23.

“If political parties had chosen a presidential candidate out of their officials, we would have spared the country such an unjustified controversy,” the council said. “The most important thing is to hold presidential elections on time in line with the Constitution.” President Emile Lahoud’s term expires on November 24. He served one six-year term as stipulated by the Constitution, but his mandate was extended for more three years under pressure from Syria in late 2004.

The bishops also called for dismantling the tent city erected by the opposition in Downtown Beirut last December 1. “It is time to liberate the capital’s city center and its surroundings, where restaurants, hotels and shops have shown the whole world that our Beirut is characterized by a vital and active role,” the council said. “Reinstating prosperity and construction in Beirut is a admirable national move.”

The opposition launched the sit-in after six opposition ministers quit the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and protesters have demanded the resignation of a Cabinet it labels illegitimate. Hizbullah was quick to reply to the bishops’ statement, with politburo member Mahmoud Qomati saying “there is no need to put an end to the continuing sit-in.”

“We have not reached an agreement over pending issues; whenever this is done we will immediately dismantle the tents,” Qomati said after a meeting with the leader of the opposition Free Patriotic Movement, MP Michel Aoun. Also addressing the forest fires that raged throughout several Lebanese regions on Tuesday, the bishops’ statement said that “such huge fires raise many questions.”

“Who can answer them? Who will compensate [the Lebanese people] for the great damage?” the council asked. Meanwhile, the bishops urged the government, society and schools to help parents provide their children with the assistance they need, “so no student remains out of school.”