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Sleiman reiterates rejection of extending his term

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman reiterated Sunday that he would not accept an extension of his presidential term that ends next month.

“I am bored of answering the question about extending my term, and I say it once again that I am against the extension because it not democratic,” Sleiman said, speaking from Bkirki where he attended the Sunday Easter Mass.

“I say no for extension of the presidency or in Parliament,” he said.

Sleiman said that boycotting the upcoming Parliament session to elect a new president would be “wrong” as it meant “boycotting consensus and Dialogue.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai also appealed to lawmakers to attend the session, saying that “it is an honor for lawmakers to elect a new president.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has called for a Parliament session to elect a new head of state Wednesday, but it is not certain whether a quorum for such session will be secured.

The president also praised the presidential campaign platform of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, who declared his candidacy for the election earlier this month.

“I like the presidential program of Samir Geagea because it is national and sovereign, and I congratulate any president who applies such program,” he said.

A delegation from the LF held a rare visit to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun at his Rabieh residence Saturday afternoon and gave him a copy of Geagea’s presidential program.

The delegation included MPs Strida Geagea, Joseph Maalouf and Fadi Karam, along with former Minister Toni Karam and a member of the party’s executive committee, Eddy Abi al-Lamaa.

Sleiman also spoke about his ties with Hezbollah, which have deteriorated recently over the president’s criticism of the party’s role in Syria.

“My ties with Hezbollah are normal, Hezbollah ministers are present within the government and I see them once or twice a week,” he said.

“The party just took inappropriate stances, and I made statement that they did not like.”

Source: The Daily Star

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On Easter, pope calls for end to war, condemns waste

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, in his Easter address before a huge crowd, Sunday denounced the “immense wastefulness” in the world while many go hungry and called for an end to conflicts in Syria, Ukraine and Africa.

“We ask you, Lord Jesus, to put an end to all war and every conflict, whether great or small, ancient or recent,” he said in his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message.

Francis, marking the second Easter season of his pontificate, celebrated a Mass to an overflowing crowd of at least 150,000 in St. Peter’s Square and beyond.

The crowd stretched back along all of Via della Conciliazione, the boulevard between the Vatican and the Tiber River.

Speaking under a sunny sky after a midnight rainstorm soaked the tens of thousands of flowers that bedecked the square, Francis weaved his message around the suffering of people across the globe.

He prayed to God to “help us to overcome the scourge of hunger, aggravated by conflicts and by the immense wastefulness for which we are often responsible.”

Since his election as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, Francis had made defense of the poor a hallmark of his papacy, often criticising developed nations and the excesses of capitalism and consumerism.

The 77-year-old pope, wearing white vestments for the service, prayed for the protection of those members of society who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and abandonment – women, children, the elderly and immigrants.

Easter is the most important day on the liturgical calendar because it commemorates the day Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead after his crucifixion and the Church sees it as a symbol of hope, peace and reconciliation among peoples and nations.

BOLD PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

The pope called on the international community to “boldly negotiate the peace long awaited and long overdue” in Syria, where more than 150,000 people have been killed in the civil war, a third of them civilians. Millions have fled the country.

“We pray in a particular way for Syria, that all those suffering the effects of the conflict can receive needed humanitarian aid and that neither side will again use deadly force, especially against the defenseless civil population,” he said.

Francis asked God to “enlighten and inspire the initiatives that promote peace in Ukraine so that all those involved, with the support of the international community, will make every effort to prevent violence and, in a spirit of unity and dialogue, chart a path for the country’s future”.

He also asked for an end to violence in Iraq, Venezuela, South Sudan and the Central Africa Republic.

Francis appealed for more medical attention for the victims of the deadly Ebola epidemic in Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and care for those suffering from many other diseases spread through neglect and dire poverty.

He called for a “halt to the brutal terrorist attacks” in f Nigeria, an apparent reference to Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which earlier this month abducted some 130 girls from a school in the north of the country.

The Easter Sunday services were the culmination of four hectic days of Holy Week activities for the pontiff.

Next Sunday, he will canonize Pope John Paul II, who reigned from 1978 to 2005, and Pope John XXIII, who was pontiff from 1958 to 1963 and called the Second Vatican Council, a landmark meeting that modernized the Church.

Hundreds of thousands of people are due to come to Rome for the canonisations, the first time two popes are be made saints simultaneously and the first canonizations of a pope since 1954.

Source: Reuters

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PHOTOS: Lebanese-American Christians celebrate Easter

(WARREN, MI) Millions of Christians worldwide are celebrating Easter this Sunday, marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Several hundred parishioners attended Michigan’s largest Maronite church, Saint Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church in Warren, for a traditional midnight mass.

Christians celebrate Easter to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. The resurrection symbolizes his victory over sin and death.

“Easter always means renewing our faith. This season is very important to us. A new person is being born inside of us,” said Samia Deban, a longtime and active St. Sharbel parishioner. “Look a how Jesus suffered for us. During this season, we forgive each other, we repent if we did something wrong, and we always look for a better life with Jesus.”

Chorbishop Alfred Badawi thanked the bishops, clergy, church staff, volunteers, and parishioners for their tireless efforts during Holy Week.

“This is your home. May this parish continue to grow with love, peace, and unity,” Chorbishop Badawi said.

Each year, St. Sharbel expects to serve almost 1,500 parishioners from across the state.

“It was a full house tonight. We’re getting a large crowd who are seeing this church as their home. This is what we’re here for,” said Eli Bassil. “This is the most important holiday for us. Christmas is commercialized by the media, but the value of Christ is still strong in Easter.”

Easter Sunday is a day for Lebanese believers to spend with their families and carry out rituals, including exchanging colored eggs and cracking them open.

Festive celebrations are preceded by a long period of Lent, which this year started on March 3. From that date until April 19, believers abstained from meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products while spending time in prayer.

“The faith is continuous – it’s through the whole year. It’s not only through Easter or Palm Sunday. We have to keep Jesus in our heart for as long as our heart beats,” said Deban.

Check out the gallery of photos from our Facebook page below.

Post by Lebanese Examiner.
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‘Friendly’ Meeting between Aoun, LF Delegates

A Lebanese Forces delegation met with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Saturday afternoon, and handed him over a copy of the LF leader’s presidential program.

The delegation included MPs Sethrida Geagea, Joseph al-Maalouf, Fadi Karam, former minister Toni Karam and member of the party’s Executive Committee Eddy Abi al-Lamaa.

MTV provided late on Saturday details on the “friendly” meeting between Aoun and the LF delegates.

It reported that the talks started with MP Geagea handing over the presidential program to Aoun, with a greeting from LF leader Samir Geagea.

“We hope that you would support his candidacy,” Sethrida Geagea told Aoun, who responded with a smile, according to MTV.

The FPM leader told Geagea that the final decision on whether he will run for office or not will be announced on Tuesday, after his Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting.

“My presidential program is focused only on securing stability,” Aoun remarked.

The meeting ended with both parties agreeing on attending Wednesday’s parliamentary session, and on supporting a “strong candidate who has a clear program.”

MP Geagea assured Aoun that the LF will be “the first to congratulate him if he wins in the presidential race, and that the party will stand by whomever becomes president.”

“I will also be the first to congratulate Geagea if he takes office,” Aoun responded, according to the same source.

LF officials have been holding talks with different parties and leaders in the country to hand them over LF leader Geagea’s presidential program, and to discuss the upcoming elections.

LF sources told MTV on Friday that a meeting with Hizbullah officials will be requested for the same purpose as well.

“We will request an appointment to meet with Hizbullah officials as well but we are not sure they will be responsive. But we are going to do what we have to do,” the sources said.

MTV said on Saturday that LF MP George Adwan is the person tasked with contacting Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal party over this matter.

On Wednesday, Geagea announced a presidential program that focused on “restoring the authority of the state against the proliferation of weapons during a time of regional unrest.”

The LF chief also called for a state monopoly on the use of force, including confronting Israel.

He is the sole politician to have officially announced his candidacy for the polls, which are first scheduled to be held on April 23.

Speaker Nabih Berri called on MPs to meet next Wednesday, although the election is not expected to be an easy process amid a lack of agreement on a consensual candidate.

President Michel Suleiman’s six-year tenure ends on May 25.

Source: Naharnet

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Salameh: Banking sector should remain apart from political disputes

BEIRUT: Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh Saturday expressed gratitude for those nominating him for the presidential election, while explaining that he had refrained from announcing his candidacy to keep the Central Bank isolated from politics.

“I thank the trust given to me as a presidential candidate, but my concern is for the Central Bank to remain at a distance from political bickering, which is why I do not take any initiative in that regard,” Salameh told a local television station.

Salameh, who has been the governor of the country’s Central Bank since 1993, is seen as a consensus candidate in light of the absence of any agreement on a single political candidate.

Last month, Lebanon has entered its two-month constitutional period to elect a new president, the country’s top Christian post.

In his interview, Salameh also spoke about the decline in the tourism industry, saying Gulf countries’ travel advisories on Lebanon had damaged that sector.

“The fact that Gulf tourists refrained from traveling to Lebanon has negatively affected the Lebanese economy because Lebanon relies heavily on tourism from Gulf States,” he said.

Salameh offered reassurances that Lebanon was still able to “finance its needs with stable interest” because of the trust in the country’s banking sector that allows for the flow of foreign funds to Lebanon.

He also said Lebanon was in line with international and Arab resolutions, particularly in terms of economic restrictions.

“ Lebanon is concerned with respecting international and Arab resolutions, and banking measures have been taken to ensure that Lebanon does not deal with money either from Syrian institutions or figures if we receive warning from any of the countries we deal with,” he said.

Source: The Daily Star

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PHOTOS: Lebanese-Americans observe Good Friday

The Lebanese-American community observed Good Friday, which marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with prayers and a Lenten dinner on March 18.

Worshippers gathered at churches around the country to commemorate the death of Jesus on the cross. In Michigan, hundreds of Lebanese-Americans packed local churches for a traditional evening liturgy and dinner.

Close to 200 parishioners attended Our Lady of Redemption Melkite Catholic Church in Warren led by Rev. Michel Cheble.

At St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church in Warren, close to 1,000 people packed all corners of the church. An overflow room with a projector and screen was set up to accommodate for the large crowds.

“The church was packed with people from all over the state. This is a perfect lead-in to Easter Sunday and it signifies just how much this community continues to grow,” Maurice Farah, secretary of the Lebanese-American Club of Michigan said.

Farah is also a leader of the St. Laba Hasroun Society, which sponsored the Lenten dinner, which was catered by Ike’s Restaurant in Sterling Heights.

Bishop Robert Joseph Shaheen and Chorbishop Alfred Badawi led the Good Friday liturgy. Bishop Shaheen is visiting Michigan for a special Holy Week outreach trip.

Check out the gallery of photos from our Facebook page below.

Post by Lebanese Examiner.
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Hezbollah raps Geagea candidacy, calls for compromise

BEIRUT: Hezbollah Friday implicitly rejected Samir Geagea’s candidacy for the presidency, saying the Lebanese Forces leader’s move could delay holding the presidential election on time and cause trouble in the politically divided country.

MP Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah’s bloc in Parliament, also said his party would only support a presidential candidate who defended the resistance, a long-running divisive issue among the Lebanese.

“Some candidacies that are not qualified [for the presidency] might obstruct holding the election. The country cannot endure a problem and a clash between two national options,” Raad told a rally in south Lebanon, in a clear reference to Geagea’s bid for president.

“There is no time for [forging] a major political compromise over these two options because an agreement on a president cannot be reached unless there is a consensus over a compromise,” he said.

Raad was apparently referring to the two conflicting options over Hezbollah’s arsenal. While the March 14 coalition wants Hezbollah to disarm and surrender its missiles to the Lebanese Army, the March 8 alliance insists that the party keep its weapons to defend Lebanon against a possible Israeli attack.

Geagea, an outspoken critic of Hezbollah, has repeatedly called on the party to hand over its arsenal to the Army, saying a powerful state cannot be built while illegitimate arms remain in the hands of any party. Geagea and his March 14 allies have also slammed Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria to support President Bashar Assad’s forces.

Days after announcing he would run for president, Geagea unveiled Wednesday a broad political platform stressing the state’s monopoly over the use of arms, a move intended to deprive Hezbollah of its arsenal.

In an apparent response to Geagea’s platform, Raad said Hezbollah would only support a candidate who defended the resistance.

“We want a candidate who will safeguard and defend the resistance option and is keen on the unity of the Lebanese,” Raad said. “With regard to major national issues, abandoning the resistance option in favor of another option will threaten national sovereignty and put the country on the brink of a new abyss.”

“Therefore, we advise those concerned [with the presidential election] to be wise and refrain from embarking on miscalculated adventures,” he said.

The presidential race has moved into high gear after Speaker Nabih Berri Wednesday called on Parliament to convene on April 23 to elect a new president.

The parliamentary session will likely fail to elect a president as no candidate appears ready to secure two-thirds of the MPs’ votes, and the session may not achieve quorum.

In addition to Geagea, Western Bekaa MP Robert Ghanem from the March 14 coalition has also announced his candidacy.

Kataeb Party leader Amine Gemayel is also expected to announce his candidacy for the presidency in the new few days.

As news of Gemayel’s nomination spread, LF and Kataeb officials were in contact in an attempt to reach consensus over a single March 14 candidate.

Geagea’s wife, MP Strida Geagea, telephoned Gemayel asking to meet at the latter’s residence in Bikfaya.

“The LF and the Kataeb Party are very close to an agreement on approaching the presidential election in such a way to ensure March 14 unity in order to wage the presidential battle under the best conditions,” an LF source said.

An LF delegation will soon visit Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in Rabieh, north of Beirut, to give him a copy of Geagea’s political platform. LF delegations will also visit March 8 and March 14 leaders for the same purpose.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai spoke by telephone with Geagea to congratulate him on his nomination for president and the declaration of his political platform, a statement from the LF chief’s office said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said he was still undecided on which candidate to support for the presidency.

“I will choose [a candidate] at the last minute after consulting my conscience and my partners,” he told Al-Ousbou Al-Arabi magazine. “I will consult Speaker Nabih Berri first, the Future Movement and other sides.”

Jumblatt, head of a seven-member parliamentary bloc, is seen as the kingmaker in the presidential election as his support for one of the two rival factions can tip the balance in its favor.

Separately, a Future Movement source denied Friday that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri would return to Lebanon to attend next week’s parliamentary session to elect a new president.

“Such allegations are not true,” the source told The Daily Star. “Hariri has no intention of coming back to Lebanon at the moment.”

Earlier Friday, Future MP Samir Jisr told the Voice of Lebanon radio station that Hariri might come to Beirut next week to attend the parliamentary session to elect a president.

Source: The Daily Star

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Berri: Conditions not ripe to hold elections on Wednesday; hopes Hariri will attend

Speaker Nabih Berri voiced his skepticism that the parliamentary session to elect a president will be held, saying that the conditions to ensure its success are “not ripe yet,” reported As Safir newspaper on Friday.

He remarked: “The conditions may not be ripe at the moment, but that does not mean that they will not be available before next Wednesday.”

The speaker had called parliament to convene on April 23 to elect a president.

Asked if head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri will attend the session, Berri replied: “I hope so and that he would remain in Lebanon permanently.”

Media reports had linked a recent visit by Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi to Saudi Arabia to Hariri’s return to Lebanon to attend the presidential elections session.

Commenting on the session, Berri said that he will kick it off once the quorum of two-thirds of lawmakers is met and then the election process could get underway.

“If a president is elected during this first round, then the elections would be complete, otherwise a second or third round may be held,” he explained.

In addition, he revealed that he will chair a meeting for his Development and Liberation bloc on Tuesday in order to discuss the presidential elections and agree on a candidate, said al-Joumhouria newspaper.

“The March 8 camp only has one candidate and that is Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun. The March 14 alliance on the other hand has several candidates,” he remarked.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea of the March 14 alliance is so far the only official to submit his candidacy.

He presented his presidential program on Wednesday.

Media reports had said on Thursday that Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel, also of the March 14 camp, will announce his nomination before the end of the week.

The March 8 camp has not yet announced its candidate, but Aoun has reportedly informed his ally Hizbullah that he is prepared to take the post if there was consensus on him.

Aoun has allegedly sent similar messages to Hariri, who leads the March 14 camp.

Berri has said that any candidate must secure two-thirds of votes to win in the first round of elections and half-plus-one or 65 votes of the 128-member parliament to win in the second round.

Source: Naharnet

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Jumblatt undecided on presidential candidate

BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said in comments published Friday that he is still undecided on which candidate he will endorse for the presidency as Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad indirectly warned against controversial candidates.

“I will choose [a candidate] at the last minute after consulting my conscience and my partners,” he told Al-Ousbou Al-Arabi magazine.

“I will consult Speaker Nabih Berri first, the Future Movement and other sides,” Jumblatt said.

“I will not declare anything about the subject and I prefer we have [announced] candidates with clear economic and social platforms.”

Jumblatt also denied media reports that he would not vote for Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea or Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.

“I never said that,” he said.

Jumblatt, head of the National Struggle Front bloc, is seen as the kingmaker in the nation’s political landscape as his support for one of the major coalitions can tip the balance in its favor.

The two-month constitutional deadline for electing a new president started on March 25 and Parliament is set to meet next Wednesday to elect a new president.

Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea, a March 14 coalition leader, has announced his candidacy, saying his platform would focus on strengthening the state and combating the proliferation of arms in the country.

Another March 14 leader, Kataeb head Amine Gemayel, is also expected to announce his candidacy while MP Michel Aoun, Hezbollah’s main Christian ally, has yet to join the race.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Raad, head of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, said his party would support a presidential candidate who defends the resistance.

“We want a candidate who will support and protect the resistance strategy and who is keen on the unity of the Lebanese people,” Raad said during a memorial service in south Lebanon.

“We advice politicians to be wise and refrain from embarking on miscalculated adventures,” he said, apparently referring to problematic nominees. “What is needed is to help the country pass through this phase as we preserve its sovereignty.”

 

Source: The Daily Star

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Ongoing contacts between Lebanese Forces, Kataeb to name single March 14 candidate

Contacts are underway between the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb party in an attempt to reach consensus over a single March 14 presidential candidate, after several party officials close to Amin Gemayel hinted that the former president might soon announce running for office.

LBCI television reported on Friday that the ongoing contacts between Bikfayya and Maarab are close to reaching consensus over the presidential elections, in an attempt to preserve the March 14 coalition’s unity.

LBCI first said that LF MP Sethrida Geagea was tasked with contacting the Kataeb party.

But later, it noted that the party’s chief, Samir Geagea and not MP Sethrida Geagea, was the person in contact with Kataeb officials.

Al-Mustaqbal MP Fatfat told al-Arabiya on Friday afternoon that Geagea has introduced “a new approach of political work in Lebanon and a new aspect of democracy by announcing his candidacy.”

“This is because the tradition before was having under-the-table negotiations,” he commented.

He also remarked that March 14 will reveal its candidate for presidency after Gemayel takes a final decision on his nomination.

“But reports said contacts are underway between LF and Kataeb over this matter and we think that this is a positive sign,” the al-Mustaqbal lawmaker expressed.

In a related matter, MTV said that a LF delegation will visit Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in the coming hours to hand him over Geagea’s presidential program, and to discuss the upcoming elections with him.

Kataeb MP Elie Marouni assured on Thursday that Gemayel is a “natural candidate in the presidential race, because the party sees in him a strong and popular president.”

Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi, who’s Gemayel’s adviser, announced as well that the Kataeb leader is preparing to declare his candidacy.

On Wednesday, Geagea announced a presidential program that focused on “restoring the authority of the state against the proliferation of weapons during a time of regional unrest.”

The LF chief also called for a state monopoly on the use of force, including confronting Israel.

He is the sole politician to have officially announced his candidacy for the polls, which are first scheduled to be held on April 23.

Speaker Nabih Berri called on MPs to meet next Wednesday, although the election is not expected to be an easy process amid a lack of agreement on a consensual candidate.

President Michel Suleiman’s six-year tenure ends on May 25.

Source: Naharnet

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