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Berri blasts UN meddling in Lebanon internal affairs
Hanan Awarekeh
In a clear interference in the Lebanese internal affairs, the United States and France on Friday insisted Lebanon's imminent elections must not to be thrown off track by the killing of Lebanese MP Antoine Ghanem this week. "What is at stake today is the will of murderers to disrupt the constitutional life of Lebanon," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her French counterpart Bernard Kouchner said in a joint statement after talks.
"It is crucial that the presidential election in Lebanon be held according to the Lebanese constitutional schedules and norms," said the statement. The two countries "with their partners in the United Nations Security Council, are vigilant in protecting this process and the intra-Lebanese political dialogue," Friday's joint statement said.
The Security Council "took note of the decision to convene the next session of the Lebanese Parliament on 23 October and looked forward for the parliament to proceed as appropriate to the election of the president," the statement added.
In a clear interference in the Lebanese internal affairs, the United States and France on Friday insisted Lebanon's imminent elections must not to be thrown off track by the killing of Lebanese MP Antoine Ghanem this week. "What is at stake today is the will of murderers to disrupt the constitutional life of Lebanon," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her French counterpart Bernard Kouchner said in a joint statement after talks.
"It is crucial that the presidential election in Lebanon be held according to the Lebanese constitutional schedules and norms," said the statement. The two countries "with their partners in the United Nations Security Council, are vigilant in protecting this process and the intra-Lebanese political dialogue," Friday's joint statement said.
The Security Council "took note of the decision to convene the next session of the Lebanese Parliament on 23 October and looked forward for the parliament to proceed as appropriate to the election of the president," the statement added.
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A two-thirds majority of the 127-strong parliament is required for a candidate to be elected by parliament in a first round of voting to replace the current President Emile Lahoud, whose terms ends in November.
In response, Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri blasted the world body for "meddling" in Lebanese affairs. Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday adjourned until October 23 a crucial session to elect a new president for lack of a quorum and to allow more time for lawmakers to reach agreement on a consensus candidate. In a statement published by Lebanese dailies on Friday, Berri rejected the UN statement and a similar one by the US House of Representatives.
"With all due respect to the Security Council and the U.S. Congress, the Lebanese refuse any external forces to meddle in Lebanon's domestic and parliamentary issues," Berri said.