Bkirki Spiritual Summit: Presidential Void Threatens Sovereignty, Security and Cultural Formula
Lebanon's religious leaders on Monday voiced concern over the continued presidential vacuum in the country and urged political forces to head to parliament and elect a new head of state.
“We express our concern over the continued presidential vacuum, given the threat this constitutional vacuum poses to Lebanon's sovereignty, security and cultural formula,” the spiritual summit's closing statement said.
“The delay in electing a president is negatively affecting all public and constitutional institutions, which are being paralyzed one after another,” the conferees warned.
They called on all political forces to abide by “the national interest” in order to “exit the dilemma of vacuum.”
The religious leaders underlined that “it is necessary to resort to the ballot boxes in the parliament in line with the Constitution.”
As for the ongoing dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal and the talks between the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement, the conferees said they “encourage dialogue,” but lamented that “all these dialogue sessions have only yielded little results.”
“The election of a president must remain a critical and vital issue because the Maronite Christian president is the guarantee for coexistence,” they stressed.
Baabda Palace was left vacant after the expiry of president Michel Suleiman's six-year term in May 2014.
The rivalry between the March 8 and 14 alliances has caused the vacuum at the country's top Christian post despite calls by some political and religious leaders on MPs to head to parliament and elect a new head of state.
The majority of the March 8 coalition's lawmakers, mainly from Hizbullah and FPM leader MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc, are boycotting the parliamentary sessions and causing a lack of quorum.
Separately, the religious leaders urged officials to give the social and economic affairs “utmost attention,” calling for “speeding up the adoption of the state budget, curbing unjustified expenditure, and boosting investment spending in order to activate the economic cycle.”
Turning to the regional situations and their impact on Lebanon, the Christian and Muslim leaders noted that the wars in Syria and Iraq “have caused countless disasters, including displacement.”
“The unorganized entry of Syrian refugees surpassed Lebanon's coping capacity at several levels, from security to housing, labor, health, education, transport and food reserve, which has depleted a treasury that is reeling under the burden of debt,” the conferees warned.
They said the dire circumstances of the refugees “require active international action and an increase in aid.”
“The international community must realize that Lebanon's capacity is limited,” they added.
Separately, the religious leader said the phenomenon of terrorism in the region must be confronted “culturally, educationally and politically.”
“It must be fought through unifying the ranks of moderation, boosting its position and modernizing the religious rhetoric,” they said.
Commenting on the persecution of some Christian minorities in the region, the conferees underlined that “Christian presence has an essential role in giving this Levant a key role.”
“Christian presence in our countries is authentic and predates Islam by several centuries and it will continue,” they emphasized.
“These waves of violence have not spared any of the religions and sects. Christians were persecuted, oppressed and displaced, and the last example was the attacks on Assyrians.”
As for the Yemeni conflict, the conferees hoped the rapid developments “will be contained in a manner that preserves the Arab countries' unity, security and stability.”
The spiritual leaders also announced that they have decided to turn the spiritual summit into an “institution” that will convene on a periodic basis.
The decision to turn the summit into an institution came after a recommendation from Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, An Nahar daily reported.
An Nahar said that during Monday's meeting, Daryan was expected to call for following up the recommendations of a previous summit, which had pledged to form of a joint delegation to visit Arab countries and ask for Lebanon's assistance.
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