BEIRUT: The Future Movement Tuesday said Hezbollah was attempting to disrupt the presidential election from taking place, citing remarks made by an Hezbollah official the day before.
In a statement issued after their weekly meeting, the Future bloc said comments made by Hezbollah’s politburo chief Sayyed Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyed was a clear indication of Hezbollah’s role in disrupting the presidential election and accused the party of exposing Lebanon to the dangers of political vacuum.
Sayyed held a news conference after his meeting with the Armenian Tashnag Party Monday, where he was asked by reporters why Hezbollah boycotted sessions to elect a president instead for voting for Aoun.
In response, Sayyed said “Aoun didn’t go to Parliament for us to vote for him in the first place.”
“If there was a candidate... then a serious consideration of the presidential issue would be possible only through an understanding with Aoun,” Sayyed said, stressing that Hezbollah would not attend election sessions without making an agreement with the Free Patriotic Movement leader beforehand.
“Hezbollah, in light of this position, has become responsible for pushing Lebanon into higher orders of danger,” the bloc said in response to Sayyed’s remarks.
According to the bloc, Hezbollah, who has backed Aoun as its primary candidate, has the right to stand by its chosen contender, but Sayyed's comments suggest the party is trying to impose this candidate on all of Lebanon.
The bloc called on all lawmakers to attend Parliament sessions and elect a president, to preserve Lebanon's democratic order.
Shifting to issues pertaining to the Beirut airport, the bloc expressed dismay with the delay in appointing a governing body for Lebanese Civil Aviation, saying that the move was necessary to meet new E.U. requirements.
Last week, Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Zeaiter announced that British Airlines was the first European carrier to stop importing goods from Lebanon after the Beirut airport failed to meet new E.U. standards.
The European Union launched a program recently to ensure cargo is screened appropriately in third country airports, issuing a memo to the Public Works and Transport Ministry informing it of the decision to halt the transport stop of goods from Beirut.
Technical reform will not solve the issues facing the airport, the bloc said, stressing on the need to appoint a governing body to supervise Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Authority, consisting of qualified members to manage the sector.
The bloc called for swift reforms to improve the airport’s shipping center and for its cargo station to be equipped with tools to ensure safe shipment.
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