Maronite Bishops Call for Dialogue, Say Cabinet Issue Should be Resolved within Constitutional Framework
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Maronite Bishops urged on Wednesday Lebanese politicians to cooperate with President Michel Suleiman's call for dialogue, saying the cabinet issue should be resolved within the constitutional framework.
Following their monthly meeting under Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and with the partial attendance of papal envoy Cardinal Robert Sarah, the bishops urged “all politicians to abide by the Baabda Declaration and mainly the article that calls for steering Lebanon clear of conflicts.”
“The crisis in the country over mainly the cabinet issue cannot be solved outside the national constitutional principles,” the council of Maronite bishops said in its statement.
The Lebanese should “hold onto national unity and legitimate institutions,” it said, urging them not to jump into an unknown that would let the country face a mysterious fate.”
The March 14 opposition has called for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's cabinet and the formation of a new salvation government following the Oct. 19 assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan.
The coalition has also refused to sit at the national dialogue table with Hizbullah despite insistence by President Michel Suleiman to resolve the deepened rift at the all-party talks at Baabda palace.
In their statement, the bishops condemned al-Hasan's assassination and called on the state to speed up the payment of compensations to the families whose homes and property were damaged in the car bomb blast that killed al-Hasan and two others, including his bodyguard.
The council also called for holding the 2013 parliamentary elections through a new law that guarantees the best representation of all factions.
It congratulated al-Rahi on his appointment as cardinal and welcomed Sarah, who has been tasked by Pope Benedict XVI with visiting Lebanon “to express his compassion with the Syrian people and its suffering.”
Benedict called for peace in Syria on Wednesday but admitted that a planned visit by a Vatican delegation to the conflict-torn country would not go ahead because of conditions in Syria.
Circumstances in Syria "have not rendered possible" the visit, the pope said at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, adding that he had dispatched Sarah to Lebanon to discuss the crisis.
07 November 2012, 15:46
02
Qu'est ce qu'on s'enfoue des opinions des religieux?? la politique ne leur regarde pas ! qu'ils se melent de leur propres affaires .car au lieu d'aider ils ne font que compliquer les choses
07 November 2012, 15:46
01
Qu'est ce qu'on s'enfoue des opinions des religieux?? la politique ne leur regarde pas ! qu'ils se melent de leur propres affaires .car au lieu d'aider ils ne font que compliquer les choses
07 November 2012, 20:43
01
@bingo
Wholeheartedly agree in and ideal democratic system. Lebanon unfortunately does not even come close. Religion, besides being the opiate of the masses, is hopelessly embedded in Lebanon's political makeup.
It requires ALL sects in Lebanon to agree on separating church/mosque and state before extricating the clergy from politics.
07 November 2012, 16:22
00
As long as Religion is involved in politic, Lebanon and the Lebanese are doomed to live in dark ages......
07 November 2012, 17:06
41
yes starsky... they should all avoid promoting dialogue? Lets just pray they have the balls to encourage war instead!
I mean, seriously, i'm just really "OFF" these Christian clerics that don't incite killings and war! Christianity and religion have always been the cause of division by calling for dialogue!
lets just attack hezbollah and kill all their followers. You know, like civilised people do.
07 November 2012, 20:37
01
@karim_m1
Really? Where do you read that in the article?
You obviously did not like this statement and jumped to a conclusion you like but not in evidence:
“all politicians to abide by the Baabda Declaration and mainly the article that calls for steering Lebanon clear of conflicts.”
That is the core of what M14 is calling for and HA & FPM are running away from.
Believe whatever political opinions you feel like but please refrain from outright lying and misrepresenting issues to fit your views.
07 November 2012, 20:47
00
March 14, Lebanon First, Free Syrian Army, dear warriors, what is a constitutional framework? This is too damn complicated, my friends! Does it mean the much needed involvement of France, Britain, the US, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt... in helping Lebanon First be First, Second, Third, Fourth... and Nth? Does it also mean that a few "well-advised" and "sane" followers of the "bright" March 14 leaders should storm the office of the PM because he killed the one whose duty was to protect the PM and the rest of us but was not able to even protect himself because, unfortunately, he was distracted from his primary duty and got involved in matters that were beyond his James Bondism? I wonder why he did not heed the advice given to him that said: ma tel3ab bel nar... wawa a7. Now that the great Wissam al-Hassan is gone, who is going to solve all the assassinations that were pending resolution on his desk? Damn, life is unfair, March 14.
08 November 2012, 01:53
00
@Karim: j'espère que tu sois plus constructive dans tes critique. i really hope you are convinced in what are you talking about.. are you here for jocking ?? be serious in order to be taken seriously
08 November 2012, 05:34
00
the wahabists have electricity and running water in their country. They're actually more civilized than you... and your ideology.
