| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Leb PM designate reiterates determination to form government |
| 2011-04-05 |
| BEIRUT: Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati vowed Monday to pursue his efforts to form a new government despite major hurdles blocking the Cabinets birth. I will continue my efforts to form a government that will address the big problems and seek to allay the Lebaneses concerns, Mikati said in a speech welcoming the countrys top Christian and Muslim religious leaders, including the newly elected Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, at his residence in the Beirut neighborhood of Verdun. Mikati hosted a luncheon for his guests. Rai visited Mikati as part of his calls on the top Muslim political and religious leaders to thank them for participating in his inauguration mass last month which confirmed him as the new head of the influential Maronite Catholic Church, replacing Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir who has resigned. Mikati stressed that the Lebanese religious authorities have a role to play in bringing the Lebanese together, cooperating to save Lebanon from the crises it is facing and also in safeguarding internal stability. The key to resolve the political crises is by adhering to the implementation of texts and spirit of the Constitution which preserve the positions and role of all the Lebanese groups No one can eliminate the other or underestimate its effective presence in the country and institutions, he said. Mikati reiterated commitment to the ruling system based on the 1989 Arab-brokered Taif Accord which ended the 1975-90 Civil War. He warned that any attempt to undermine this ruling formula would bring the country back to a very difficult stage. The Christian and Muslim spiritual leaders praised Mikatis efforts to form the Cabinet and called on all political factions to facilitate his mission and reduce their conditions and demands in order to help the formation of a government to tackle many thorny issues. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Sfeir urges reflection after voting age lowered |
| 2009-03-23 |
| Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir called for "reflecting on the repercussions" of amending the law allowing 18-year-olds the right to vote prior to passing it. During his Sunday sermon at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Bkirki Sfeir said: "The issue of voters' age has become a subject of discussion. One has to contemplate repercussions before ratification." Lebanon's Parliament on Thursday approved a bill lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 but the measure will not come into effect in time for the June parliamentary election. The law needs to be cleared by the Cabinet within four months before being ratified. Lebanon's electoral law was amended last September ahead of the June 7 vote which will pit the March 14 Forces against the opposition. But MPs at the time refused to adopt some amendments including lowering the voting age and introducing a quota for women in Parliament. Also in his Sunday sermon, Sfeir said Pope Benedit XVI's Africa tour reflects the efforts of the Catholic church in assisting the continent's residents combat all sorts of aliments. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Sfeir urges Lebanese against 'selling' their votes |
| 2009-03-16 |
| Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir urged the Lebanese during his Sunday sermon to vote during the June 7 elections for candidates who will defend their basic rights. "Voters must know who they will be choosing to defend their basic rights," Sfeir said. "They must not forget the proverb 'whoever buys you shall sell you.'" |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | ||
| Video threatens Lebanese Christians | ||
| 2007-05-28 | ||
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir was also threatened. "If you do not stop firing on our family I warn ... after today not one Christian in Lebanon will be safe ... Just as you strike, you will be struck." | ||
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | ||||
| PLO backs army entry into Nahr al-Bared | ||||
| 2007-05-23 | ||||
| BEIRUT/TYRE: The representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon said Wednesday that the PLO would not object if the Lebanese Army decided to send troops into the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp "to crush Islamist extremists entrenched there." "This is a Lebanese decision," Abbas Zaki said following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Bkirki. "We have repeatedly declared that we supported Lebanon's sovereignty and endorse any decisions Lebanese authorities made," Zaki said. Also on Wednesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya asked Lebanon to help resolve a humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian refugees following three days of fighting with Islamists. Haniyya, of the Islamist group Hamas, called Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Premier Fouad Siniora and Speaker Nabih Berri to express solidarity with Lebanese security after the raid against Fatah al-Islam. "Prime Minister Haniyya confirmed the Palestinian position that we stand by the protection of Lebanon's security and law, and confirmed the need to protect Palestinian people in this refugee camp," his office said in a statement. He conveyed the "need to resolve the humanitarian issues after the clashes" and "we [the leaders] agreed to pursue this issue to find a quick solution to this crisis," the statement added.
Separately, the special envoy of the UN secretary general to Lebanon, Geir Pedersen, visited Zaki at the PLO headquarters in Beirut. Zaki and Pedersen discussed the fighting at Nahr al-Bared and the living conditions in general of Palestinians in Lebanon. French Ambassador Bernard Emie also met with Zaki on Wednesday to thank him for the efforts of the PLO and the Fatah Movement to evacuate five French nationals inside the Nahr al-Bared camp when clashes erupted. In other developments, the commander of Fatah in Lebanon, Brigadier Sultan Abu al-Aynayn, dismissed on Wednesday media reports that he planned to send fighters to the Nahr al-Bared camp to fight Fatah al-Islam. "We did not sent any fighters and we are not planning to do so since the suppression of Fatah al-Islam is not the responsibility of Fatah solely," Abu al-Aynayn said at a news conference held at the Rashidieh refugee camp near Tyre. Various Palestinian factions "ought to reach a common" agreement about Fatah al-Islam, "and Fatah will decide on its future action accordingly," he said.
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lahoud or not Lahoud? That is the question |
| 2006-04-30 |
 Participants in Lebanon's national dialogue held their first official discussion of potential replacements for President Emile Lahoud on Friday, bridging what had been a psychological barrier before adjourning until a follow-up session on May 16.Although the names of the four individuals under consideration - MP Michel Aoun, MP Butros Harb, former MP Nassib Lahoud and Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad - had been among the country's worst-kept secrets for months, this was the first they had been publicly acknowledged. At a press conference after the talks, Speaker Nabih Berri said the entire session had been dedicated to the presidency but that it would have to be revisited in the next round of talks. He told reporters that regardless of whether or not a decision was reached on presidency issues on May 16, participants would move on to another subject of considerable contention, that of Hizbullah's arms. Speaking with The Daily Star immediately after the talks, Harb confirmed that the names discussed were those made public earlier in the day by Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea. Geagea had mentioned the four names during a visit to Bkirki to see the Maronite patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir. Asked if Aoun had put his own name forward as a candidate, Berri said: "We've always said that Aoun is a very serious candidate for the presidency, but other names were put forward as well." Asked if the next session would deal with the subject of border demarcation and the Shebaa Farms again - a source of much disagreement between Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt and Hizbullah's secretary general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, - the speaker tried to change the subject. "Does it look like we're playing here?" he asked. This decision has been taken." Asked whose version - Nasrallah's or Jumblatt's - had been agreed upon, Berri was non-committal. "Go back and re-read exactly what I announced after the last session," he said. "We won't be discussing that again." |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Fatfat repeats call for Emile to step aside |
| 2006-04-21 |
 Acting Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat reiterated his calls for the resignation of President Emile Lahoud, saying that "disregarding the presidential crisis would mean that we have accepted a big violation of the Constitution." Speaking after a visit Thursday to Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Bkirki, Fatfat said discussions focused on political developments, adding that he listened to "the prelate's views regarding the security situation and the electoral law."Asked about the presidential crisis, Fatfat stressed that this issue "should not be disregarded," adding that the extension of Lahoud's term was "imposed on the Lebanese people." He added: "Let's wait for the outcome of the national dialogue session on April 28 to see if Lahoud will stay in office until the end of his term." |
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| Sfeir voices support for peaceful removal of President Lahoud | ||||
| 2006-02-22 | ||||
 In an interview with As-Safir, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said he supported the ousting of President Emile Lahoud peacefully and through legitimate means.
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| Thinly veiled insults greet Lahoud's statements about Hariri | |
| 2006-01-04 | |
 Condemnations and thinly veiled insults continued to be made against President Emile Lahoud on Tuesday, as politicians demanded that the president "stop misleading the people". Former President Amin Gemayel said "what is important now is to rid the country of the remaining security apparatus," adding that "President Lahoud is part of that system and is protecting it." Gemayel's comments were made to the Al-Jazeera TV station Tuesday, and mainly concerned an interview with former Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam broadcast on Al-Arabiyya TV last Friday and Saturday. Gemayel said Khaddam's revelations represent "a new embarrassment for President Lahoud, who is putting a lot of constraints on the government and hindering it from making the necessary changes to the security apparatuses." He added that the presidency itself is now under a "vicious assault," recalling Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir asked Lahoud to "learn from the past." The Phalange Party leader said "it is up to the president to make a decision that will serve the country."
MP Atef Majdalani called on Lahoud to "stop misleading the people, making false claims, stop pretending" and just "go away." In a statement, Majdalani said "Baabda's statement was a cover-up of the deep hatred that President Lahoud feels for the martyr Rafik Hariri." Lahoud had claimed his relations with Hariri were "positive and respectful." Majdalani asked whether Lahoud had forgotten the "vicious media campaign that his team led against Rafik Hariri during the elections of 2000 through the official media." The MP further asked the president if he had forgotten that "his officials in Baabda demanded the removal of the evidence at the crime scene (of Hariri's assassination) by removing Rafik Hariri's convoy and opening the road." In a separate statement, MP Mohammad Qabbani accused Lahoud of "violating the Constitution three times. The first was when his term was extended when he was army commander; the second was when he was elected president; and the third time was when his term for the presidency was extended." Qabbani called on "all forces that are still covering up for the president" to "side with the country and not with the remainder of the security system." MP Antoine Andraos said it was time Lahoud heeded the repeated public calls and "leave the presidency." Andraos further slammed Lahoud's "irresponsible and appalling practices." He added that the president had "lost his legitimacy" on the same day that Syria completed its withdrawal from Lebanon last April. | |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Sfeir uncommitted to ousting Lahoud from office |
| 2005-11-02 |
 Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir remained neutral about the presidency issue on Tuesday, during a busy day of meetings with numerous Christian politicians. Sfeir will preside Wednesday over the monthly meeting of the Maronite Bishops Council. Dory Chamoun, the head of the National Liberal Party, said he was opposed to any nomination of a military figure to the presidency, adding that "[President Emile] Lahoud's extended presidency is not constitutional because he altered the Constitution to remain in power." Chamoun said Lahoud should resign before things get worse for the post of the presidency, and for the Maronite community that controls it. "The president is currently very isolated with no visitors coming to Baabda," he added. "This worsening situation will hamper the presidency and make it ineffective." According to Chamoun, Lahoud must learn from the history of his predecessors. "Former President Bshara Khoury, who was stronger and more popular than Lahoud, put the country's interest above his personal concerns and resigned," he said. Metn MP Michel Murr said that he discussed the presidency and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun's candidacy with Sfeir, but stressed that a presidential race will not be launched while Lahoud remains in office. "We always consult with the patriarch on all national issues and we believe he can act as a national reference because of his balanced and neutral positions regarding major issues," he said. Murr supports Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun for the post, as "Aoun left the military a long time ago and has proven to be a popular politician. "Being a member of the Change and Reform bloc," he added, "I support Michel Aoun's stance that the president is neither ousted in the street nor by the Constitution. He can only resign if he wishes to do so." According to Murr, the patriarch will not nominate any specific candidate. "He stands at the same distance from all Christian leaders and figures," he said. Asked about his family's ties to the president, Murr said his personal relations with Lahoud were stronger than his political bond. "Despite our close ties, which we value and respect highly, we might disagree on many political issues. Moreover, my son's views as a defense minister have nothing to do with being [Lahoud's] son-in-law." Murr also slammed the campaign to oust Lahoud from office as being "all wrong because those who launched it resorted to personal name-calling that made the president more stubborn in refusing to leave until the last day." However, he lauded the decision to let Christian leaders handle the presidency, despite "our strong belief the presidency belongs to all sects and religious groups." Murr also did not see any good coming from a Christian meeting with Sfeir to discuss the presidency, noting that not all Christians are Maronites. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Hariri: Lebanon has golden opportunity |
| 2005-10-12 |
 Leading Lebanese opposition MP Saad Hariri held a closed-door meeting yesterday with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Rome, saying in comments afterward that Lebanon has been given "a golden opportunity" that must be seized. The Lebanese Parliament's majority leader said he was surprised by "all the fuss" concerning German prosecutor Deltlev Mehlis' final report on the international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, adding that "the Future parliamentary bloc will accept the findings of the report, regardless of the outcome." Regarding his meeting with Sfeir, held at the Maronite School in the Italian capital, Hariri said: "I updated His Eminence on the results of my recent visits to New York, France and Saudi Arabia and the outcome of my meetings.""His Eminence and I are optimistic because Lebanon has a golden opportunity that we must grasp," he added, referring to the first chance for true Lebanese sovereignty in decades. Asked to comment on recent claims from both Damascus and its Lebanese allies that Mehlis' report will be void of any hard evidence of Syrian involvement in the attack, Hariri said: "If it's actually empty, then why is this massive campaign being waged against it? The report will be issued in a couple of days and we are waiting for this report and will accept it regardless of the outcome." Commenting on the security situation in the country, he said: "We all have security concerns and the government is deploying all possible efforts to ensure security for the Lebanese people." Hariri is one of many Lebanese officials who have been conducting their affairs from abroad due to "security concerns." Hariri also said that "some people were trying to create an atmosphere of anxiety before the issuing of the report, which they say is void" of evidence. "There is a result for this report and those who assassinated Rafik Hariri will pay the price for their crime," he added. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Aoun slams Lahoud decision to attend UN summit | |
| 2005-09-09 | |
 Kesrouan MP General Michel Aoun criticized President Emile Lahoud's decision to attend a UN summit in New York later this month, and voiced concerns that he would be blamed for failures of Lahoud's security regime should he be the next president. Aoun's comments followed a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir late yesterday evening. Aoun said that if he was in Lahoud's place, he "wouldn't leave the country, but rather stay and follow-up on the internal issues."
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