EU delegation calls on Lebanese to unite

 

A delegation of the European Parliament”s Foreign Affairs Committee said on Monday that it was up to the Lebanese to solve their one-year old political impasse.

 

The European delegation held a one-day visit to Beirut and met with figures from across the political spectrum, including parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri,  Democratic Gathering head MP Walid Jumblatt, and Hizbullah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan.

 

The delegation also visited Parliament in Beirut, where they met with the Foreign Affairs Committee, headed by MP Abdulatif Zein.

 

“We noticed that the current standoff could be ended if feuding political parties reach a consensus over the presidency,” MEP Jose Ignacio Salafranca told reporters during a news conference at the Movenpick Hotel.

Salafranca urged the Lebanese to unite, adding that “unity among the Lebanese is likely to bridge the gap between opposition and loyalists.”

 

He added that he “got the impression,” following talks with politicians, that various Lebanese groups support the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman, for the presidency.
 

“Since all parties seem to have reached a primary agreement, all obstacles including constitutional ones should be overcome,” Salafranca said.

 

A power vacuum occurred on November 24 when a Lebanese parliamentary session failed to agree on a presidential candidate and the pro-Syrian incumbent, Emile Lahoud, left office with no successor. The vote to elect a candidate was postponed until November 30 and then moved to December 7.

 

But hopes of an end to the deadlock were raised last week when Lebanon”s Western-leaning factions said they would accept constitutional changes paving the way for Suleiman to assume the nation”s top post.

 

Under the Lebanese Constitution, civil servants are unable to take over the presidency for two years after stepping down.

 

In Lebanon the president is elected by Parliament for a six-year, nonrenewable term. However, Lahoud”s term, which was due to end in 2004, was extended until 2007 by an ad hoc Syrian-influenced amendment allowing him to stay in power.