Will Lebanon’s presidential election crisis eventually be internationalized as the only way to end the 9-month-old vacuum in the country’s top Christian post?
This question is being asked as the U.N. Security Council prepares later this month to review the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701 that ended the 34-day war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
The Security Council’s regular report on the resolution is expected to highlight the risks entailed by the continued presidential vacuum and its repercussions on the situation in Lebanon.
The Security Council’s move might provide the first signal about the possibility of “internationalizing the Lebanese presidency” after the country’s top leaders have failed to resolve this issue, political sources said.
Western diplomatic sources have conveyed Western powers’ concerns over the possibility of Lebanon facing security incidents, particularly on the southern front. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could decide to overturn the tables there in light of his strained ties with U.S. President Barack Obama, as well as his opposition to the ongoing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
A recent public opinion poll conducted by Time magazine showed that 72 percent of Israelis do not trust that Obama would guarantee to them that Iran would not produce nuclear weapons.
Based on these security concerns, the sources referred to the rising international calls on Lebanese officials to elect a president who can shield the internal political situation and provide cover for military and security forces who are facing, in addition to the southern front, major challenges on the eastern and northern fronts as gunmen attempt to infiltrate into Lebanon from the Lebanese-Syrian border.
This matter necessitates an overall security-military plan of action which can be secured only with the presence of a full-fledged political authority, starting with the presidency and the presence of a higher defense council that is headed by the president.
According to the Western sources, a new development has emerged in the presidential issue: an international call to elect a president before June.
However, Lebanese political circles asked whether international powers, which do not stop calling on Lebanese leaders to quickly elect a president, have enough time to follow the Lebanese crisis in light of fast-moving regional developments and their preoccupation with drawing up plans to settle the explosive situation in other Middle East countries.
Until a presidential breakthrough is achieved, the Western diplomatic sources said, international attention will remain focused on the role of the Lebanese Army and the other security forces in fighting terrorism. The Lebanese Army has proved that it is an ideal military force that can inflict big losses on terrorist groups.
Political sources told The Daily Star that European military delegations would arrive in Beirut over the next few days to discuss with Lebanese officials ways of supplying the Lebanese Army with the weapons and equipment needed to protect the border against all kinds of terrorism and reinforce border positions to prevent any infiltration attempts.
Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai has conveyed to the Lebanese officials he has met since his return from a visit to the Vatican a serious papal concern over the presidential vacuum and the fate of the presidency and the country’s pluralistic setup, political sources said.
The sources added that Rai stuck to his decision not to enter into the bazaar of names of presidential candidates, but he held the local parties and their external allies responsible for the failure to elect a president.
“The priority of Bkirki [the seat of the Maronite Church] from all the ongoing dialogues is the election of a president,” the sources said.
They added that a number of Lebanese politicians have left for some decision-making capitals for talks on the presidential impasse.
Sources familiar with the ongoing dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah said Monday’s session between the two sides would discuss, in addition to the implementation of the security plan in Beirut and the southern suburbs, the presidential vacuum and the need to end it as soon as possible in light of the international advice in this respect.
The Future delegation to the dialogue will raise several proposals, including one made by MP Walid Jumblatt, who was supported by Speaker Nabih Berri, on the need to give a national dimension to the presidential election issue rather than confining it to the Christians, the sources said.
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