President Emile Lahoud called Friday for an end to political wrangling over the question of presidential elections, saying this was “diverting attention from more important regional issues or those related to citizens’ living and economic affairs.”
Lahoud’s call came on the heels of an interview given by Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli to a Kuwaiti newspaper, released Thursday, in which he voiced strong opposition to the idea of extending the presidential term of office. Ferzli also told the Al-Rai al-Aam daily newspaper that such a move would further perpetuate the country’s problems.
Official sources quoted Lahoud, who was elected in 1998 for a six-year term ending some 18 months from now, as saying that raising the matter at present “opens the door for futile political divisions and wrangling.”
The sources said that Lahoud, commenting on the current political atmosphere, affirmed that “nobody has been entrusted with propagating, adopting or defending presidential ideas.”
The sources added that indulging in such ideas “harms the president and the presidential office.”
In the interview, Ferzli declared that the idea of extending the presidency should be forgotten as it would virtually lead to the “death of the political system, and an assassination of Lebanon itself and of the rule of law in it.” He said the extension of the term of Lahoud’s immediate predecessor, Elias Hrawi, for three years was a “mistake” that should not be repeated.
The country’s social and economic worries were shared Friday by politicians, religious leaders and businessmen, and taken up by government officials.
Industry Minister Elias Skaff told reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, attended by Finance Minister Fouad Siniora, that discussions dealt with the industrial situation and the need for Lebanese industrialists to be able to reach the “competition stage.”
He said the talks also touched on ways to reduce costs for the industrial sector, either in terms of energy or fees, and said the prime minister was “fully responsive in this respect.”
Leading Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah said in a Friday prayer sermon that there was “more than one political, economic or environmental problem” in the country, including the problem of garbage in Sidon and other places.
He called on government officials to deal with the garbage issue rapidly and said the country was in need of effective dumps, “just as it needs some dumps to bury political disputes and polemics.”
Another leading cleric, the vice-president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, told worshippers that people were living in need, poverty and despair, while politicians were preoccupied with their “personal ends and aims.”
He said politicians should not forget the problems the public and the country face, and they should avoid “trifling matters.”
The National Action Forum (NAF), headed by former Prime Minister Salim Hoss, criticized the government for failing to hold a weekly Cabinet meeting because of what it described as a dispute over the question of building schools in Beirut and other regions.
“The building of schools constitutes a vital circle in the chain of work needed within the framework of human development,” the NAF said.
The Phalange Party’s Akkar and North Metn regions issued statements supporting the stand adopted by Administrative Development Minister Karim Pakradouni in last week’s Cabinet meeting in relation to the dispute over the question of “balanced development.”
They said “balanced development” was not only a popular, factional or regional demand, but also a constitutional principle. They also deplored the “marginal campaign” to which Pakradouni has been subjected because of his “national stand.”
The National Liberal Party said a new government should be formed and include among its priorities the drawing up of an “emergency plan” with the participation of all those concerned to deal with the country’s economic situation.
The Association of Lebanese Industrialists issued a statement touching on recommendations made by a ministerial committee to solve the problem of diesel-operated vans. It said banning the import of “red diesel” would have “very negative effects” on the industrial sector and increase the cost of production to an “unbearable extent.”
The Bourj Hammoud Merchants Association proposed establishing offices at Lebanese embassies abroad to promote investment projects and acquaint Arab and international public opinion with the prospects of tourism in the country.
The association said that for economic and construction rejuvenation to continue, the country needed to attract additional Arab and foreign capital investment for various domains.