Grand mufti stresses potential of Arab initiative

by **Admin** Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:44 am

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said on Wednesday that the Arab initiative was the "only solution and hope" for Lebanon. "There is still hope for its implementation," Qabbani said. The three-point Arab initiative calls for the election of the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman, as the new head of sate, the formation of a national unity government and the drafting of a new electoral law.

A session to elect a president is scheduled for March 25. The session to elect a president has been postponed 16 times, with feuding groups still at odds over the shape of the next Cabinet and the electoral law.

Qabbani called for facilitating the presidential election and argued against "unconstitutional preconditions" aimed at hampering Arab League chief Amr Moussa's efforts to solve the 15-month-old political deadlock.

"The failure to elect a president before the Arab aummit means that Lebanon has entered a cycle of postponement. This raises questions over the fate of Lebanon and the Lebanese," Qabbani said after meeting with Moussa in Cairo on Wednesday.

He also called on Arab leaders to provide additional support for Lebanon.

Qabbani reiterated the importance of holding to the Taif Accord and not amending it, "which would bring many dangers to Lebanon."

He also visited Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu al-Gheit and discussed with him the latest developments on the Lebanese political scene.