Plumbly Meets Berri. Salam, Voices Concern with Failure to Form New Govt.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly stressed on Wednesday that the best way to safeguard Lebanon’s stability during this period was through reinforcing and respecting Lebanon’s state institutions.

He said: “In this context the delay in forming a new government is a matter of concern.”

He made his remarks after holding separate meetings with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam.

“I know that the speaker very much shares this concern. I encourage all sides to engage with the Prime minister-designate on the formation of his government,” added Plumbly.

Discussions with Berri also addressed the extension of military appointments.

“In this context, I would like to say that the Lebanese army is a vital partner for the United Nations in Lebanon,” continued Plumbly.

“We very much hope that this problem, the problem of a possible vacuum in senior army positions, is resolved as soon as possible,” he stressed.

Earlier on Wednesday, he had expressed concern of vacuum at the head of the military institution if the term of Army commander General Jean Qahwaji's term ended.

“Politicians must resolve the matter. There's a pressing need to find a solution,” Plumbly said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper.

Qahwaji's term ends this September when he turns 60, the maximum age for the post of the army commander.

The diplomat pointed out that western countries have voiced strong support to the army and stressed the need to fortify its capabilities to confront the upcoming challenges.

A Security Council statement proposed by France called for "strong, coordinated international support for Lebanon to help it continue to withstand the multiple current challenges to its security and stability."

The Security Council statement said there should be international help for the Lebanese Armed Forces to help police the border and made a new appeal for all sides in Lebanon to stay out of the Syria conflict.

A dispute emerged between political foes over the extension of Qahwaji's tenure.

March 14 lawmakers insist on linking the extension of Qahwaji's mandate to that of Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, who retired after turning 59 – the ISF’s maximum working age – on April 1.

While, Change and Reform MPs on the other hand refuse the extension of the term of the army commander, who turns 60 in September – the age of retirement for military chiefs.

Plumbly also expressed fear over the involvement of Lebanese groups in battles in the neighboring country Syria, warning that the conflict might spill over into Lebanon.

“Lebanon must be safeguarded from the negative repercussions of the turmoil in Syria,” he pointed out.

He called on the Lebanese foes to abide by the Baabda declaration.

In June 2012, a national dialogue session approved the Baabda Declaration that demands that Lebanon disassociate itself from regional conflicts.

Hizbullah's backing of the Syrian regime has angered the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad and raised sectarian tensions inside Lebanon. Several Syria-based Islamist groups have threatened to attack Hizbullah strongholds in Lebanon in retaliation.

Rockets from the Syrian side regularly crash into Shiite towns and villages near the border with Syria. Twice this month, rockets slammed into the Hizbullah stronghold known as Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburbs.

In the most ominous sign yet that the sectarian war in Syria has begun to consume Lebanon, a car bomb tore through a heavily guarded sector of Bir al-Abed area on last week, wounding 53 people.