NNA – Al-Liwaa newspaper wrote: The first third of March, which is the fifth month of the vacancy of the first presidential term, is almost over, and the scene is confined to two extremes: the first is the cessation of the presidential sessions, which have become linked to local and external elements in terms of the appropriate conditions for the election process to take place..
The second limit: Parties and representatives of parliamentary blocs with influence, whether Christian, Islamic or mixed, continue to display their positions, within messages that at least contain “play and manipulation” outside of space and time, and even the occasion...
What is new in this scene is the entry of candidate Suleiman Franjieh into the game of stances, in terms of emphasizing his identity and his view of what needs to be done, at the level of internal unity and election, and often insinuating about the dangers of the Christian position continuing as it happened...
He quoted a senior official as saying regarding this “parliamentary clash” that there is no way out to save the first presidency, outside of a renewal of regional understanding, with serious international support, away from the dangers threatening the regional and international situation through the Israeli slippage, and the American endeavor to rebuild clashing alliances in the Middle East..
Political sources, in their evaluation of the recent appearance of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, and his focus on the issue of the presidential elections, and the party’s adoption of the nomination of the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Franjieh, for the presidency, after Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced this position days before him, that despite Nasrallah’s attempt to give distance The internal affairs of the Lebanese presidential elections, and his vehement denial of any connection to the Iranian nuclear file with the United States of America and the West in general, or the negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia or other regional files and issues. The party is not to the internal Lebanese parties who oppose the party and its behavior in dealing with the file of the presidential elections only, and this is a foregone conclusion, but rather to the countries concerned with Lebanon, especially the five countries participating in the recent Paris meeting, in an attempt to lure it into opening a discussion with it or its sponsor, Iran, to negotiate on this matter. The file, considering that without this Iranian participation, directly or through the party, the file of the presidential elections cannot be lifted from the deadlock. It’s been going on for months.
The sources considered that Nasrallah’s adoption of Franjieh’s candidacy, as it happened, does not indicate commendable intentions to advance the path of electing the President of the Republic forward, but clearly indicates a deliberate provocation, both inside and outside Lebanon, to keep him suspended and hostage in the hands of Iran and through the party, for negotiation. On it, among the issues raised with the five countries or some of them, is to achieve whatever gains can be made through them at the expense of the Lebanese interest, and the evidence for this is the negative reactions to the content of the party’s adoption of Franjieh’s candidacy, all of which indicate that this method, in its summary, means deporting the file The presidential elections, until the deal on the Iranian nuclear file and its ramifications in the Arab arena is decided, and this means that the vacuum crisis in the first presidency is long..
Observing circles told Al-Liwaa that the talk about Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s intention to invite the deputies to a new electoral session is not certain in light of the continuing sharp parliamentary division, and they believed that the positions that emerged suggest that the next stage is a stage of tug-of-war, especially after the two were nominated. Shiite former MP Suleiman Franjieh, considering that it is possible to talk about a fight in the House of Representatives if there are electoral sessions or if one of the parties is able to hold the quorum.
And it is likely that the presidential file will enter the vicious circle again, even if the nominations appear, knowing that there are other names that may come to light..
The country is still under the influence of the dual nomination of Amal and Hezbollah officially for the head of the Marada Franjieh Movement, who, according to parliamentary sources, “re-move stagnation in the quagmire of presidential entitlement by renewing the movement of political forces and ambassadors concerned with the Lebanese situation, although it did not and is difficult to lead soon to solutions.”».
A parliamentary source in the “Amal and Hezbollah” duo was surprised by the campaign’s announcement of support for Franjieh’s candidacy for the presidency, and told “Major General”: Minister Franjieh is the candidate of “We and Plana”, and in every presidential election since after the Taef Agreement he was a main and public candidate. He did not hide this, and he has parliamentary blocs that support him, and the situation is the same now, as there are many blocs that support his election for the next six years. Including Christian and non-Christian blocs and independent Christian and non-Christian MPs.
The source said: It is unfair to direct accusatory words that the “duo” nominated Franjieh, so we supported his candidacy, but the other team decided to obstruct and disrupt the elections by refusing to secure a quorum of 86 deputies to open the session, after he accused us of obstruction and obstruction, and their words are clear and public in this regard. Either their candidate or no president!
However, the source acknowledged that it is difficult to secure a quorum for the opening of the session due to the positions of the opposition blocs, just as it is not easy to provide 66 deputies in the second round to secure the success of Franjieh or any other candidate, and he said: Therefore, there must be a settlement or internal understandings to agree on one or more candidates. And let the elections take place on this basis.
Yesterday, Franjieh had a position on what was going on, as he stressed, during a traditional annual luncheon at the invitation of the head of the Monastery of St. George in the town of Ashash in the Zgharta district, Father Kalim El-Tuni, “the need to implement the constitution in the elections for the presidency of the republic.” He said: We are Arab Christians, and we are from an Arab house. We believe in Arabism, dialogue, and the best relations with everyone, because the future of the country lies in its unity and coexistence. He continued: We are under the roof of the Church that looks at all its subjects..
Franjieh added: We have to apply the constitution through presidential elections, and by not implementing it, we will be like a milli council where the four Christian parties agree on a president, and then there is no need for elections. Is this what they want?
And he continued: By electing the president, two-thirds of the parliament must be present, which means that half of the Christian deputies must attend the session, and this secures the pact..
He continued: We are not ashamed of our political stance, rather we are proud of it, because there has never been a day when we sought sedition, but we have always been open to everyone and we have worked and will work for all of Lebanon..
And he said: Yesterday, boycotting the parliament session was a deadly sin and against the constitution for some, but today some consider this boycott a right. Christians agree on the bad and not on the positive, and it would be preferable if they agreed once on the positive, and let the constitution be the guarantee, but if they do not want the constitution, then let them have the audacity to demand that it be amended, but to be with the constitution when it suits us and be against it if it is not in our interest, then this is not permissible.
The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, will speak at 3:00 pm this afternoon on an educational occasion, and he may touch again on the internal situation..
The Deputy Secretary-General of “Hezbollah”, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said through his Twitter account: There are two paths that have no third: either the blocs present the names of their candidates for the presidency and dialogue among them to secure the weighting of one of them, or they barricade themselves about their options and not fulfill the entitlement for an indefinite period. .
In the context of the presidential movement, the Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abd al-Latif Darian, received a delegation from the “National Moderation” bloc, and Representative Walid al-Baarini spoke on his behalf, and he said: “Our visit to His Eminence the Mufti to check on his health, and we thanked him for his position on the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Shuaib al-Rifai, and his follow-up to this file , and his wisdom to be subject under the roof of the law.
He added: We discussed the issue of electing a President of the Republic, to fill the vacancy, and His Eminence confirmed, as we also confirmed, that the nomination comes under the ceiling of the specifications that we agreed on and agreed upon previously in Dar Al-Fatwa, and our colleague, Representative Ahmed Al-Khair, and commissioned by the bloc, confirmed this, and stressed that it be accomplished. This entitlement as soon as possible, due to the inability of the people and citizens to bear this vacancy and its consequences, and we are at the same distance from everyone, and this is our natural position, and we are not with any party except for the benefit of the country. And every person who supports this opinion, we will be on his side, and we will not be obstructing any session, and we will not be standing with one party against another..
Al-Baarini added: We also touched on the very important issue of living that affects all people, especially as we are at the gates of the blessed month of Ramadan, and we hope that the prime minister and Prime Minister Najib Mikati will continue to hold cabinet sessions to serve the people..
In addition, Representative Nabil Badr said: We rejected the candidacy of Representative Michel Moawad in the past because we consider him a challenging candidate, and the same thing today applies to the candidacy of Suleiman Franjieh, and therefore we reject his candidacy..
The head of the Lebanese Democratic Party, Talal Arslan, also received, at his home in Khaldeh, the political assistant to the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hajj Hussein Al-Khalil. During the meeting, a presentation was made of the general situation and the latest political developments..
And the “Free Patriotic Movement” considered that the presidential elections “are an absolute constitutional and national priority, which requires that all necessary efforts be made to elect a president who embodies an integrated reform and rescue project, similar to what was stated in the presidential priorities paper put forward by the movement, and that its implementation is ensured by a reformist government that cooperates with the parliament.” is committed to approving the necessary reform laws; In addition to that, the election is a formal entitlement, even if it is necessary, without constituting an end to the collapse or a revival of the nation.».
In a statement on the constituent body, the movement called for “dealing with the presidential elections as a Lebanese sovereign entitlement, in which the outside world, east or west, does not deal except through the interest of Lebanon and helping the Lebanese to agree among themselves, and not through its interests and imposing them on them.” And he said: Therefore, the time has come for dialogue and understanding among us as Lebanese, without waiting for the outside, and without accepting that someone from the outside or from the inside imposes his decision on us. We are in the movement, and in all cases, we will only follow our convictions that we pushed for, and we will continue to pay dearly for it..
He added: The crisis, in its essence, is beyond the election of a president, and to shorten it in this way is an absurdity to it. Building the state takes place through actions through reform measures and through the adoption of reform laws such as those advanced by the current; And protecting the national partnership is by respecting the will of the components in their participatory role, and in their actual representation in constitutional institutions and in their presidency..
Salim and Aoun reconciliation
In an important development, in a meeting between caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, National Defense Minister Maurice Selim and Army Commander General Joseph Aoun yesterday at the Saraya, it was agreed “to resolve the differences in a spirit of cooperation in order to preserve the army and its role and the close relationship between the defense minister and the army commander.” During the meeting, the situation of the military establishment and the relationship between the Ministry of Defense and the Army Command were presented.
Mikati had chaired a meeting that included Minister of National Defense Maurice Selim, Minister of Interior and Municipalities Bassam Mawlawi, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, Director General of the Internal Security Forces Major General Imad Othman, Director General of State Security Major General Tony Saliba, Acting Director General of Public Security Brigadier General Elias El Beisari and Director General of the Ministry of Finance, George Maarawi. During the meeting, they discussed the financial needs of the army and all security services.
According to some sources of information, a stormy discussion and loud voices were heard between General Aoun and Minister Selim, before the situation calmed down and the two men exchanged kisses, marking the opening of a new page, but the reconciliation, according to insiders, was reluctant, and it will not last long...
The meeting, which was joined by the leaders of the military and security services, expanded to discuss aid related to the army, workers in the army institutions, the security forces, and other non-civilian services..
Before that, Mikati visited the Melkite Roman Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Yusuf al-Absi, at the patriarchal residence in Rabwah, in the presence of the caretaker minister of youth and sports, George Kallas, and the patron of the diocese of Tripoli, Archbishop Edward Daher..
At the beginning of the meeting, Patriarch Al-Absi welcomed President Mikati. And he said: We appreciate, O President, in your person the constant pursuit of a solution and overcoming the obstacles that hinder your work in this difficult circumstance that the country is going through. Your visit to this headquarters gives hope and enthusiasm, and communication and dialogue are the basis for saving Lebanon.
He said, “The spread of the Roman Catholic Church in the East in general, and we have hope for survival
Minister Kallas said: What the Grand Serail celebrated during the term of this government, which faced challenges in its path and achieved achievements in its path, including launching strategic development plans, conferences, diplomatic, judicial, economic, environmental, health, scouting, sports, tourism and educational, is one item of the statement of the government together to the rescue..
Bishop Edward Daher said: We are fortunate that President Mikati bears this responsibility, which is a ball of fire. His state we consider him a support in Tripoli, and his institutions support all the people of Tripoli, to whatever side they belong to.
After the visit, President Mikati said: It was natural to talk about the current situation the country is going through and the difficulties we are facing, especially the social concern that His Beatitude expressed frankly. And we discussed the political situation and the need to elect the President of the Republic as soon as possible, because the door to salvation at the present time is for the constitutional institutions to do their full work, and for the process to start with the election of a President of the Republic and then the formation of a new government to carry out the required reforms and face the difficulties that we are going through economically and socially..
France to investigate the 1983 bombing
A French judicial review arrived at the Public Prosecution Office at the Court of Cassation, demanding that the Lebanese judiciary hear two names, Youssef Al-Khalil and Sanaa Al-Khalil, without mentioning detailed information about their full identities..
Paris demanded that they be investigated on suspicion of their involvement in carrying out the suicide attack that targeted the headquarters of the French in the 9-storey “Drakar” building in the Ramlet Al-Baida area in Beirut in 1983, the headquarters in which the French unit was stationed, where about 58 French paratroopers were killed and about 15 were wounded. others.
Corona: 93 injuries
In terms of health, the Ministry of Public Health announced, in a report it published yesterday evening, that 93 new infections had been recorded regarding Corona cases, which raised the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 1,232,649, and one death was recorded..
=========
Follow the news of the National News Agency via Radio Lebanon on 98.5, 98.1 and 96.2 FM.