BEIRUT: The Future Movement is seeking to work with Hezbollah to defuse sectarian tensions and revive the role of Parliament and Cabinet paralyzed by the four-month-old presidential deadlock, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said Sunday.
He also said his ministry was not ready to hold parliamentary elections under unstable security conditions, sending the strongest signal yet about the possible extension of Parliament’s mandate.
“There is a political possibility for joint action between the Future Movement and Hezbollah through the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc to energize the Cabinet and parliamentary work and reduce tensions,” Machnouk said.
Referring to the paralysis that has hit Parliament since lawmakers have failed to elect a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, he said: “There is a serious possibility for legislation. Contacts are ongoing between [Speaker Nabih] Berri and [former premier Saad] Hariri.”
Machnouk spoke to reporters upon his arrival in Doha as part of a Lebanese ministerial delegation headed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam to discuss with Qatari officials the issue of at least 22 Lebanese soldiers and policemen still held by ISIS and Nusra Front militants.
In the strongest signal yet that Parliament’s mandate, which expires on Nov. 20, might again be extended, Machnouk said: “The Interior Ministry is not ready to hold [parliamentary] elections in these circumstances. For the first time in more than one year, sectarian kidnappings have happened and this is not a spur-of-the-moment incident.”
He was referring to last week’s wave of tit-for-tat sectarian kidnapping in the Bekaa region following the beheading of Sgt. Abbas Medlej, the second Lebanese soldier to be slaughtered by ISIS militants in less than two weeks after the killing of 1st Sgt. Ali al-Sayyed.
Machnouk’s remarks come as Parliament failed earlier this month for the 11th time in more than four months to elect a new president over a lack of quorum, raising fears of a prolonged vacuum in the country’s top Christian post.
The presidential stalemate has paralyzed Parliament’s role and is threatening to cripple the government’s work.
March 14 lawmakers have refused to attend any parliamentary legislative sessions amid the presidential vacuum, arguing that priority should be given to the election of a president.
Similarly, lawmakers from MP Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc, Hezbollah’s bloc and its March 8 allies have thwarted a quorum by consistently boycotting Parliament sessions, demanding an agreement beforehand with their March 14 rivals over a consensus candidate.
In an attempt to break the presidential impasse, the March 14 coalition offered on Sept. 2 to strike a deal with its March 8 rivals on a consensus candidate. However, the March 14 initiative was swiftly scorned by Aoun’s bloc as an “old and meaningless initiative,” while Berri said it offered nothing new.
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, head of the parliamentary Future bloc, said he might meet Berri this week to discuss the presidential election deadlock and the possible options about the extension of Parliament’s term or holding parliamentary elections.
Speaking to The Daily Star by phone, he said Future MPs would submit their candidacy papers for the elections on Monday. Candidates have until midnight Tuesday to file their candidacies.
Attempts to extend Parliament’s term moved into high gear last month, after Zahle MP Nicolas Fattoush presented a draft proposal for the extension of the legislative body’s term by two years and seven months, arguing that the move was aimed at protecting civil peace in the face of security threats.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly discussed with Iranian officials the growing security, political and humanitarian challenges facing Lebanon as a result of the war in Syria and the turmoil in the region.
During a rare visit to Tehran over the weekend, Plumbly held talks with Ali Velayati, adviser to Iran’s supreme leader on international affairs, and Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, according to a statement released by the U.N. official’s office Sunday. Responding to a question from reporters, Plumbly said the presidential issue was for the Lebanese to resolve.
No comments:
Post a Comment