U.S.: Who Ultimately Becomes President of Lebanon is Up to Lebanese People
The U.S. State Department has announced that it hopes to see the presidential election process “moving forward” in Lebanon, noting that the election of a president is a Lebanese affair.
“He was saying that what we hope will happen is that they’ll be able to... have an election and install a president... It’s important that the people of Lebanon, their voices be heard. And that’s what he’s referring to, the process moving forward,” U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said when asked by a reporter to clarify the latest remarks of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Asked whether the U.S. supports the election of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun as president, Kirby said Washington supports “the Lebanese people having the chance to have a vote and have a voice in who is their president.”
“That’s what we support,” he added.
As for the support Aoun receives from Hizbullah, which the U.S. labels a “terrorist organization,” Kirby said “nothing’s changed” about Washington's designation.
“They are a terrorist organization. But again, who ultimately becomes president of Lebanon is up to the Lebanese people, and we’re going to respect that process,” he added.
Kerry had announced that he was “not certain what the outcomes will be from the support that Saad Hariri is offering” to Aoun's presidential nomination.
“I don’t know what the result will be yet, but we’re very hopeful. This stalemate on the issue of a presidency is hurting Lebanon, it hurts the region, and... we hope they can move forward,” Kerry said on Friday.
Lebanese Forces bloc MP George Adwan has tweeted that Kerry's statements "prove that the presidential juncture is Lebanese par excellence," noting that "his skepticism increases Aoun's chances."
In a speech on Thursday, Hariri described his decision to endorse Aoun as a “major political risk” that he is willing to take for the sake of the country.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.
Hariri had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.
The US calls for the abolition of Article 24 of the Lebanese Constitution which denies the people a voice in the election of its President by reserving half of Parliament, which elects the President, to the Christian minority, which is reportedly about a quarter of the population. By contrast, Shias make up more than half, according to Noam Chomsky. Oddly, Hezbollah has not called on Shias to come out in the streets to demand abolition of power-sharing. The US call today may embolden Hezbollah in taking this step.
Christians are no minority among the Lebanese and the 16 million around the globe. More Christians left the country by despair during the war but most kept a foot in and would come back if peace settled. The 50/50 formula gives Lebanon a formidable and unique model globally, that could restore the country’s sovereignty from all proxies, and give us the opportunity to work hand in hand as Lebanese to offer our kids a great future and make Lebanon shine educationally, culturally and economically, both in the middle-east where countries are sadly religion-defined (Sunni KSA, Sunni Turkey, Shia Iran, Jewish Israel etc.) and in the west where the living together has hard times ahead. We tend to forget how brave and smart and kind each community in Lebanon is, but regional politics have ruined some of that, however deep inside, all Lebanese are really good people, whatever their faith is, and can make great partners to each