Sfeir calls on leaders to reach “fair and suitable” solution to impasse
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir urged Lebanon”s leaders on Sunday to find a “fair and suitable” solution to the country”s one-year-old political deadlock. “A solution that will be satisfying to all groups ought to be forged and personal interests ought to be overlooked for once because they only lead to chaos and harm,” Sfeir said during his Sunday sermon at the Notre Dame Church in Bkirki.
He also expressed hope that the Lebanese will be able to overcome the stalemate “by believing in their nation and staying united.”
Following the Mass, Sfeir met with the head of the Democratic Renewal Movement, Nassib Lahoud, along with former MP Camille Ziadeh.
Lahoud declined to comment following the visit.
On Saturday, the prelate said he was “comfortable with the government running the country”s business.”
“Decisions taken by the government are meant to facilitate the lives of the Lebanese,” Sfeir said. He also expressed pessimism in comments to his Saturday visitors, saying the situation in Lebanon was “grim.”
“But we all hope that God will help the Lebanese overcome the current political crisis,” he added.
Speaker Nabih Berri has postponed for the 11th time a parliamentary session to elect a new president to January 12.
The country has been without a head of state since Emile Lahoud”s term expired on November 23 without the feuding sides agreeing on a successor.
The government and the opposition have agreed on Lebanese Armed Forces commander General Michel Suleiman as the man for the job, but remain at odds over the election process and the shape of a new administration.
The opposition is demanding a “basket” of guarantees on the new government line-up ahead of any vote.
The majority has insisted that the make-up of the government is within the prerogatives of the president, traditionally drawn from the Maronite Christian community, which has expressed fears for its role in the Muslim-majority country.