Kataeb: Those Keen on National Pact Must Immediately Secure Quorum to Elect President
The Kataeb Party hit back at the Free Patriotic Movement on Monday, stressing that the election of a president must be the first step towards bolstering the National Pact.
“The Kataeb Party emphasizes that the key to respecting the National Pact is the election of a president and that those keen on it must be keen on securing quorum in parliament for the immediate election of a president,” said the party in a statement issued after its political bureau's weekly meeting.
The 1943 National Pact is an unwritten agreement that set the foundations of modern Lebanon as a multi-confessional state based on balance between Muslims and Christians.
The FPM's latest boycott of cabinet meetings was linked to the thorny issue of military and security appointments and the government's decision-taking mechanism in the absence of a president.
The defense minister has recently postponed the retirement of Higher Defense Council chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir after no consensus was reached over three candidates that he had proposed, angering the FPM which says that it opposes term extensions for all senior officers.
On Friday, FPM chief Jebran Bassil announced that the FPM wants to “destroy” what he called the “corrupt structure” that ruled the country between 1990 and 2005.
“Today, the FPM is the guardian of the National Pact. We should understand our role and realize that we are regaining power for all people and we are not shy about that... It is unacceptable for any of the Lebanese to undermine the National Pact, which is the basis of coexistence,” the FPM chief warned.
Addressing Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Bassil said “the son of late PM Saeb Salam must pay great attention when he says that the government is respecting the National Pact when it convenes in the presence of ministers representing only six percent of a main component of the country (Christians).”
Bassil has also warned that the country might be soon plunged into a “political system crisis” if the other parties do not heed the FPM's demands regarding Muslim-Christian “partnership.”
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