Report: Bkirki Seeks International Pressure to End Presidential Deadlock
International powers are seeking to pressure local authorities to stage the presidential elections, highlighting the dangers of vacuum given the developments in the region, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.
This was emphasized by the visits of ambassadors of countries of permanent membership at the United Nations Security Council to Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi at Bkirki earlier this week.
Information obtained by the daily said that the international powers are embroiled in regional conflicts “that will not be resolved any time soon, and therefore Lebanon cannot await the outcomes of these disputes” to settle is own issues.
“Lebanon's leaderships should determine their own fate and they will find international backing,” added An Nahar.
Meanwhile, deputy U.N. Secretary General Jan Eliasson is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to Lebanon on December 11 in order to carry out contacts linked to the presidential elections and the case of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale had held talks on Thursday with al-Rahi after which he stated: “We once again call on Lebanon’s parliament to elect a president as soon as possible and in accordance with the constitution and the National Pact.
“The election of a president is a decision entirely for the Lebanese to take, but take it, they must,” he added.
Lebanon has been without a president since May when the term of Michel Suleiman ended.
Disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.
Al-Rahi has repeatedly called on lawmakers to elect a president, highlighting the detrimental effects the vacuum has on the country.
“Lebanon can no longer persist in this state of fragmentation caused by the schemes of powerful politicians,” he had remarked on Sunday.
M.T.
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