Maronite Bishops Call for Implementation of National Dialogue Decisions on Arms
The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday urged officials to abide by the constitution and called for the implementation of decisions reached at the National Dialogue over the spread of arms.
Following their monthly meeting under Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki, the bishops expressed concern at the “fragile security situation,” urging the political leadership to “implement the decisions of the National Dialogue in terms of weapons in the entire territories and continue discussions on the rest of topics.”
Lebanon’s bickering officials have agreed during previous all-party talks at Baabda palace to disarm Palestinian bases outside refugee camps.
The statement also called for limiting discussions of security issues to political and security institutions which have exerted strong efforts to prevent the eruption of any major incident during the holidays.
The bishops slammed deep political divisions among the country’s politicians, urging them to abide by the laws and the constitution. “The citizen no longer knows from where to get the appropriate answer” to his questions, they said.
The statement came in reference to the controversy that erupted last week after Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn claimed about the presence of al-Qaida in Lebanon. The allegations were denied by Premier Najib Miqati and Interior Minister Marwan Charbel while Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh stressed that al-Qaida fighters were operating in the eastern border town of Arsal.
On the latest wage crisis, the bishops said the citizen was falling prey to inflation and a deteriorating economic situation. “The salaries issue has been subjected to the political bickering without taking into consideration the viewpoints of … workers and owners.”
The Shura Council on Tuesday rejected a third cabinet decision on the wage hike, paving way for the government to adopt a fourth decree.
The statement also called for speeding up the appointments of civil servants to state positions, saying procrastination would lead to “unjustified vacancies in several posts.”
The cabinet is expected to make a series of appointments next week but several positions are still the subject of bickering among top leaders.
The bishops hailed the cabinet for the adoption of a law that grants Lebanese expatriates the citizenship but they stressed the importance of “differentiating between the regaining of the citizenship and the participation in the (parliamentary) elections.”
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