Communique 4-4-2007

Communique 4 April 2007=

Communiqué

&= nbsp; On 4^th April 2007, Their Excellencies the Maronite Bishops hled, at Bkerkeh, their monthly meeting which was presided over by His Beatitude and Eminence Patriarch Nasrallah Butors Cardinal Sfeir. They studied the prevai= ling situation in the country. At the end of the meeting, they issued the follow= ing communiqué :

&= nbsp; The Maronite Church, anxious about the unity of Lebanon and its perpetuity and about the role played by the Christians and Maronite= s, cannot assume the attitude of an indifferent viewer , before the dangerous developments in Lebanon and the region, given the great dangers threatening Lebanon and its unity as well= as the role of Christians in it . Thus, the Church is keen on affirming its national assertions and clarifying its position about the prevailing crisis= .

1 – Prese= rving Lebanon= 's openness and plurality

&= nbsp; Lebanon= , the homeland and state emerged as an oasis of dialogue and encounter of various religion= s, civilizations and cultures. It has formed a mosaic which beauty appears if united together; it becomes valueless portions if separated and divided. Th= is characteristic has allowed Lebanon<= /st1:place> to be a bridge for the encounter of various cultures in an atmosphere of freedom and positive interaction. Thus, its openness and cultural and civilizing role have become the weakness of its existence and the secret of= its survival and immunity.

&= nbsp; The mission of Lebanon and its mode of existence are exposed to danger whenever a group, from the inside or outside, tries to impose its opinion over the others to limit its openness or to change its patrimony, culture and traditions.

&= nbsp; The preservation of Leba= non starts with preserving plurality in unity, but it falls down with fanaticism and isolationism. Out of this comes our refusal of any plan that disfigures= the civilized open face of Lebanon and imposes upon it traditions and shackles which go against its patrimony, history , open relations with the world and multiple cultures. <= /span>

2 – Stop = all anti-democratic practices

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&= nbsp; The Maronite Church, which considers democracy one of Lebanon's civilized pilla= rs, calls all the political forces to stick to the principles and bases upon wh= ich stands Lebanon and its political system and submit to the constitutional institutions, which form the sound circle for a political debate. These institutions are supposed to shelter the political action, away from demago= gy and tensions, stop any obstruction of their role and replace them by undemocratic practices. These practices are causing a stifling economic cri= sis, the emigration of new number of Lebanon's lively youth, in search of living means and tranquility, and the paralysis = of industrial, commercial and touristic action.

3 – Lebanon= 's obligation to respect Arab and International covenants. Keep Lebanon= away from regional and international conflicts

= Lebanon= is an inseparable component of its Arab environment and is, as mentioned in the f= orward of its constitution, committed to the implementation of the United Nations = and Arab League's covenants. It finds , in its Arab and international membershi= p, a firm guarantee for the protection of its independence, sovereignty and the safety of its territory from = any covetousness.

= Out of this, Lebanon is supposed to stick to the international legitimacy and the resolutions wh= ich are issued from its institutions. The Maronite Church calls up for a positive interaction with the International Community, the commitment to implement its resolutions, respect the principles of dealing = with its institutions and avoid hindering its efforts = to set up the international court. The latter is meant to fridge the perpetrators = of the dangerous crimes which took place in Lebanon, as from October 2004= . It also calls up for stopping the contention about the international court avoiding to make of it a case linked to the internal political struggle or = to regional pressing circumstances. For, the creation of this court is, in our eyes, a case of principle attached to right, justice and morals.

= The Maronite = Church expresses its worry about t= he frantic slogans running about. They are in contradiction with Lebanon's history cultural and political diversity, specially those slogans which affect negatively Lebanon's position and denies= its historical relations with both, Arab and International worlds, putting it in confrontation with them. The Church expresses its refusal to let Lebanon= enter into the circle of regional and international contention which drives it aw= ay from its neutrality towards them , repeating thus the tragedy of making of it a ground for the nations' struggle and interests.

4 – About the governmental crisis

= The Maronite Church considers the hampering of constitutional institutions, a forerunner toward= s the fall down of the democratic system and Lebanon's stability and domes= tic peace. It sees in the continuation of the conflicts about the government an= d in the discussion about its legitimacy and constitutionality, between supporte= rs and opponents, a threat for the society's safety and unity.

= The Church calls upon political sides to resume dialogue to find out a solution= for this crisis and reanimate the executive authority in the country. It also urges those concerned to give up stipulating conditions, with or against, to make it easier to form a new Go= vernment or treat the situation of the present one regardless of the running content= ion about its constitutionality or legitimacy. The country can no more bear the continuation of the prevailing crisis with the resulting precedents and constitutional interpretations which would have as consequence to wipe out = the constitution's provisions.

5 – The necessity to render the Parliament efficient

= In the tense political circumstances in the country, and in order not to let matter get loose on the street, the Maronite Church sees the obligation to enhance the efficiency of the dialogue within the constitutio= nal institutions, specially in the Parliament which represents all political tendencies. This is a matter impossible to accomplish, if the Parliament ke= eps itself absent, not meeting, specially for its ordinary session. Out of our concern to avoid shifting the struggle to the street, we call upon the Parliament to perform its constitutional and national role and meet to disc= uss the elements of the crisis and find solutions for it through a democratic s= ound dialogue. This, while the Church affirms&n= bsp; the obligation to respect the Parliament's rule of work and bylaws. = No party should try to obstruct the Parliament's work or neglects its role, nor should the other party, overthrow it, wiping out the rules it stands upon a= nd distributes the responsibilities vested upon those in charge.

6 – The necessity to vote a new parliamentary election law

= The Maronite Church which had voiced out its refusal of the successive parliamentary election laws, since 1992 up to date, which have hindered the true effective popular representation, claims today, as a part of solving t= he prevailing crisis in the country, that an agreement be reached about voting= a new parliamentary election law which ensures the true representation and its efficiency.

7 – About the Presidency of the Republic=

= Lebanon's political system stands on the principle of agreement among its citizens , according to rules determined by the Lebanese constitution. They prevent th= e domination of one group over the other, or holding authority singlehanded. =

= But the agreement, which conditions and rules are determined in the constitutio= n, does not mean obstructing the system of governing and the country's resolut= ions. It does not give each community, party or group the right to veto political resolutions. There is, in this, a violation of the constitution and an interpretation in contradiction with the spirit of the national agreement. = It leads to stripe out this formula and again push Lebanon into adventures and dangers.

= Out of this logic , we look forward to the maturity of the term for the Preside= ncy of the Republic and are committed to the obligation of running those electi= ons on the dates determined by the constitution. Regardless of the constitution= al debate about the quorum for holding the presidential election session. We w= ish that an agreement be reached around a new President for the country, who en= joys the qualities and the required national consensus without infringing the constitution. Nevertheless, in case this becomes unfeasible, we consider the refusal of any political force or bloc or party, to ensure the quorum for t= he session for the presidential election as bypassing the constitution and obs= tructing the principles of democracy, for it is not permitted to submit the election= of the country's president to the precondition of agreeing upon a candidate. Fulfilling this pre-condition might become= an instrument of pressure to which some will resort to impose a President in contradiction with the sound democratic principles. Resorting = to democratic rules and principles and respecting the principles of the electi= on are the true civilized expression of democracy and its rights and wards the country off a constitutional vacuum .

8 – The Fathers address their greeting to th= eir Maronite children and to all Christians and Lebanese, for Easter feasts whi= ch remind us of the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. They ask God to grant our beloved homeland Lebanon a quick resurrection from its ordeal .

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