Connelly Voices Concern over Security Situation, Rejects Postponement of Elections
U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly expressed concern on Monday over the security situation in Lebanon and along its border, stressing that the parliamentary elections should be held on time.
“I share the concern about the security situation within Lebanon and along its borders,” Connelly said after talks with Speaker Nabih Berri.
The country has witnessed lately an increase in kidnap-for-ransom phenomenon and spread of arms, igniting clashes in northern Lebanon and in Akkar.
The U.S. ambassador described the meeting as “constructive.”
Connelly reiterated her country's condemnation to the ongoing border violations by Syrian forces.
Two men were killed recently in the Wadi Khaled area that borders Syrian in northern Lebanon.
Artillery, mortar fire and automatic weapons were used in battles between Syrian troops and fighters on the Lebanese side of the border.
The violence in Syria has increasingly spilled over into Lebanon, with cross-border shelling in the north and east.
Connelly also repeated her country's support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces “in coordination with Lebanon’s leaders to maintain stability in Lebanon.”
The diplomat discussed with Berri the ongoing debate over the adoption of a new electoral law during the upcoming polls.
Connelly hailed efforts exerted by the speaker to reach consensus among the rival political parties over the electoral draft-law, calling for carrying out elections on time.
“We appreciate the extraordinary efforts exerted by President (Michel Suleiman), the Speaker, and Prime Minister (Najib Miqati) to adhere to the requirement of the Lebanese Constitution to hold elections on time,” She said.
Connelly expressed appreciation for “concerns voiced by many Lebanese that the electoral system can and should be improved.”
“If a new system cannot be agreed upon in the very near term, in our view, failure to achieve consensus on a new law does not mean Parliamentary elections cannot be held on time,” the ambassador added.
Berri's press office later issued a statement stressing that there can be no return to the 1960 electoral law.
“The Lebanese people are faced with the Orthodox Gathering proposal or a new one that offers fair representation and respects the constitution,” it said.
“It is strange that all sides are calling for a law that adheres to the constitution, while no one really wants to implement it,” it noted.
On the Syrian crisis, the statement stressed the need for dialogue between the regime and opposition.
Assistance should be provided to launch this dialogue and “ensure its success without any bias,” it added.
“The results of these talks will decide the fate of Syria,” it noted.
The rival parties are yet to agree on a draft law after the adoption of the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal by the joint parliamentary committees, which drew a sharp debate among the opposition's faction and with rival coalitions.
The polls are likely to be postponed if the parliament gives the green light to the proposal that divides Lebanon into a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system.
But the draft law has been rejected by al-Mustaqbal bloc, the centrist National Struggle Front of MP Walid Jumblat, and the March 14 opposition’s Christian independent MPs. It has been also criticized by Suleiman and Miqati.
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