Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The parliamentary Future bloc pledged Tuesday to uphold its dialogue with Hezbollah on the basis of respecting the Lebanese state’s exclusive jurisdiction over decisions of war and peace, while renewing its call for the party to retreat from Syria.
During its weekly meeting chaired by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri at his Downtown Beirut residence, the bloc also urged the rival political parties to reach consensus over the election of a new president, warning that the continued presidential vacuum, now in its ninth month, would aggravate dangers threatening Lebanon.
Hariri returned to Beirut last week to address a Future Movement rally at the BIEL complex marking the 10th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The bloc supported the “frank, firm and clear stances” declared by Hariri at the BIEL rally on key political issues.
“These stances stressed moderation and firmness in confronting terrorism and its causes and adherence to the unity and goals of the March 14 parties,” the bloc said in a statement issued after the meeting.
“They also affirmed the continued dialogue with Hezbollah on the basis of respecting the state’s adherence to its sovereignty and full authority over its territory and institutions, without ceding to anyone its exclusive right regarding its sovereign decisions and also to maintaining its unchallenged full right over the decisions of war and peace,” the statement said.
The bloc also emphasized its firm stance on the need for Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria and halt its military intervention there in order “to spare Lebanon the negative repercussions of the party’s involvement in the fighting alongside the regime which is destroying its country and killing its people.” The bloc also called on Hezbollah to end its involvement in the ongoing conflict in Iraq.
The bloc’s statement comes on the eve of a new round of talks between Future and Hezbollah. The two rival influential parties have so far held five rounds of talks focusing mainly on defusing Sunni-Shiite tensions, fueled by the 4-year-old war in Syria. The two sides earlier this month took some measures aimed at reducing street tensions by removing political banners and pictures in Beirut, Sidon and Tripoli.
The Future Movement and Hezbollah have yet to discuss a mechanism to facilitate the election of a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year mandate ended on May 25.
The statement also comes on the eve of a new Parliament session to elect a president. However, Wednesday’s session is destined to fail like the previous 18 attempts since April due to a lack of quorum.
The Future bloc called for consensus between the March 8 and March 14 parties to break the presidential deadlock.
“The bloc stresses the need for the Lebanese political parties to work for a consensus to elect a new president because the continued presidential vacancy exacerbates the risks and subsequent losses in Lebanon, especially amid the escalation of risks and clashes resulting from the situation prevailing in the region and the world,” the statement said.
Referring to the rift over the Cabinet’s decision-making mechanism that threatens to paralyze the government’s work, the statement said, “The bloc hopes that, until the presidential vacancy ends with the election of a new president, the Lebanese government will be able to return to work in accordance with legal and constitutional rules.”
Following the bloc’s meeting, Hariri met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt, with whom he discussed the political situation in Lebanon and regional developments, according to a statement released by Hariri’s office. The meeting was attended by Jumblatt’s son, Taymour, and Nader Hariri, chief of Hariri’s staff.
Earlier in the day, Hariri met separately with Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi and the ambassadors of Russia, Britain and Egypt.
After meeting Hariri, Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin said that a Russian arms deal for the Lebanese Army was on the right track.
Zasypkin said Russia highly appreciated Hariri’s stances to strengthen sectarian coexistence, moderation and Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and unity. He said he also assured Hariri that a Russian arms deal for Lebanon was on track.
“We are in continuous contact with Mr. Hariri on political dialogue as well as bolstering the capabilities of the Lebanese Army and security agencies,” Zasypkin said.
He added that the meeting focused on the implementation of bilateral contracts for supplying Lebanon with Russian weapons, refuting allegations that Hariri was seeking to disrupt or delay the delivery of the arms.
“Work is underway to complete the arms deal for Lebanon and we expect tangible results that would benefit the Lebanese state,” Zasypkin said.
Meanwhile, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun made the case against extending the retirement ages of senior military and security officials, announcing he no longer placed his confidence in Defense Minister Samir Moqbel.
“In military law there is no such thing as extending [the terms of] officers, and no authority is allowed to disrupt the military hierarchy and impose the heresy of extension,” Aoun told a news conference after chairing a weekly meeting of his parliamentary Reform and Change bloc.
“We withdraw our confidence in Defense Minister Samir Moqbel over his violation of his prerogatives in terms of governance practices.”
The remarks came after Moqbel submitted to the Cabinet a draft law that would raise the retirement age of senior Army and police officers in an attempt to avoid vacancies in the military and security agencies. Media reports said Moqbel signed a unilateral decree to extend the term of Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khair, the secretary-general of the Higher Defense Council.
Separately, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi dismissed as “poisonous” remarks made by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, saying that his speech exposed the party’s “subservience” to Iran.
In a televised speech Monday, Nasrallah rejected calls by his rivals for the party to withdraw its fighters from Syria and invited them instead to join Hezbollah’s battle against extremists in Syria and Iraq.
“The content of Nasrallah’s address has revealed more than ever Hezbollah’s subservience to Iran and its role as a tool in implementing its interests,” Rifi said in a statement.
He reiterated his opposition to the “Iranian project in Lebanon,” which, according to him, has almost led to the total collapse of the Lebanese state.
