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Sfeir: Presidential Election Concealed by Bad Intentions

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said the presidential election path was paved with bad intentions, stressing that choosing a new head of state was inevitable since dialogue has proved to be unsuccessful.
"Some Lebanese seek to achieve personal goals … at Lebanon's expense. It seems that they don't want to elect a president on time," Sfeir told LBC's Bikul Juraa talk show on Tuesday.

"MPs should go to Parliament to elect a President," Sfeir stressed. "Responsibility falls on all MPs."

Sfeir expressed fear that a parliament session scheduled for May 13 "will see a fate similar to that of previous sessions," adding that he hoped the crisis would be solved peacefully.

"They tried dialogue at Parliament and outside (Parliament) in the past and it was fruitless and did not bring anything new," Sfeir said.

"I can see no end to the (political) crisis except for the election of a president above all, to be followed by formation of a government and then parliamentary elections," he added.

He stressed that the President has "views" about the shape up of a new cabinet and "one should not impose his opinion on him."

Sfeir stressed that Bkirki, the seat of the Maronite church, was not biased and that bishops are united despite differences in opinion.

"Bkirki is not against anyone. Sometimes it is with one party and sometimes it is with the other. But it is always working for the welfare of Lebanon," Sfeir told Bikul Juraa.

"We try to be on the right track. But some people see right as wrong," he went on to say.

Sfeir accused Lebanon's neighbors of having "aspirations" in this tiny country, adding that Lebanon has no control over itself.

He attacked Hizbullah, without mentioning it by name, saying having a parallel state is "bizarre."

"There should be no two state rule for Lebanon," Sfeir stressed.

He said that if the Lebanese cannot run their own country, "then we ought to seek U.N. help."

"The situation is deteriorating day after day. There are reports that about one million Lebanese have fled. There is a lot of unemployment," Sfeir said.

Beirut, 30 Apr 08, 08:07


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