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Lahoud: I Will Do Whatever Necessary at this Stage
Mohamad Shmaysani
The February 14 bloc rushed to spread false interpretations to Hezbollah's Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's speech, accusing him of "torpedoing" initiatives to solve Lebanon's crisis.
In his speech on Sunday, Sayyed Nasrallah urged President Emile Lahoud to adopt a "national rescue initiative" to prevent political void, if a new president was not elected. The authority bloc accused Hezbollah's chief of having "Iranian motives" behind his speech, "declaring war", "instigating a coup" and of "opening fire on Speaker Nabih Berri." A source close to Berri told Al-Manar TV that it finds ill-favored the rumors about the Speaker's resentment from Sayyed Nasrallah's speech. The source said these rumors were not worth commenting on since both leaders complement each other as they have chosen consensus to be their choice and have both rejected UN resolution 1559 which calls for disarming the resistance.
The February 14 bloc rushed to spread false interpretations to Hezbollah's Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's speech, accusing him of "torpedoing" initiatives to solve Lebanon's crisis.
In his speech on Sunday, Sayyed Nasrallah urged President Emile Lahoud to adopt a "national rescue initiative" to prevent political void, if a new president was not elected. The authority bloc accused Hezbollah's chief of having "Iranian motives" behind his speech, "declaring war", "instigating a coup" and of "opening fire on Speaker Nabih Berri." A source close to Berri told Al-Manar TV that it finds ill-favored the rumors about the Speaker's resentment from Sayyed Nasrallah's speech. The source said these rumors were not worth commenting on since both leaders complement each other as they have chosen consensus to be their choice and have both rejected UN resolution 1559 which calls for disarming the resistance.
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Still, some political figures quoted Sfeir as saying that the Patriarch favors as candidates either Joseph Tarabey (the head of the Maronite Association) or former Lebanese Ambassador to the US, Simon Karam. Worth mentioning; the French ? Syrian agreement, in this framework, states that Sfeir would name one candidate who does not conceal animosity towards Damascus or the resistance; a candidate who would be directly promoted by France locally and internationally. However Patriarch Samir Mazloum told Al-Manar that it was somehow impossible to gather Maronite leaderships at a round table in Bkirki.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is due in Lebanon in the coming hours for a one-day visit which comes after the French, according to sources close to Berri, accomplished a lot in their bid to end the crisis, "particularly after Washington mandated them" to make a breakthrough. Kouchner's Lebanon visit is expected to see him deliberating with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir to slavage his country's effort which aims at obtaining a list of one or two consensus candidates from Bkirki (the Maronite Church) to be later presented to Berri and Hariri and ultimately sort out a solution.
Sfeir Has Candidates in Mind?
The source close Berri said the opposition is bargaining on a role Bkirki would play in the last minute to name a consensus candidate. But Sfeir had said he would not personally get involved in naming candidates, leaving it to Maronite leaderships to set the list.
In the meantime, President Emile Lahoud warned against the perils of violating the constitution and shaking stability in the country. Lahoud reiterated he will never hand over the rule to a president elected by the simple majority (half-plus-one MPs), or a government that has been violating the constitution. "My oath to preserve the constitution requires me to protect the unity of governmental institutions and civil security. I will do whatever necessary at this historic stage," Lahoud said.
Saudi Arabia Not Worried
Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul Aziz Khoja reassured that his country counts on ongoing efforts between Berri and MP Saad Hariri to establish agreement before the presidential poll. Khoja stressed his country's support to all initiatives, including France's.