Rahi asks Aoun not to stay in Baabda, dismisses Geagea call for 'confrontation president'
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has called on President Michel Aoun to “exert efforts with all those concerned to elect a president prior to the end of his term and to ‘do the impossible’ to achieve this.”
Speaking in an interview on al-Jadeed TV, al-Rahi added that he has never believed in the “the idea of a strong president.”
“To me, every Maronite has the qualifications to become a president and I’m not against anyone,” he said.
Asked whether the “presidential characteristics” apply to Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh, al-Rahi said: “Why not. He knows whether he can gather the forces or not, and should there be consensus over him so be it.”
As for Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea’s call for a so-called “confrontation president,” the patriarch said he had not heard of Geagea’s remarks.
“I don’t know what he means with confrontation president,” he added.
As for the nomination of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun for the presidency, al-Rahi said “there is no problem with nominating any figure on whom there can be consensus.”
As for the controversy over President Aoun’s possible refusal to leave the Baabda Palace in the presence of a caretaker cabinet, the patriarch said: “The government’s type has nothing to do with the president’s decision. The president’s powers end upon the end of his term on October 31. His mandate expires and his powers cease to exist.”
“I advise him not” to stay in the Baabda Palace, al-Rahi went on to say.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/292466 |