Lebanese Pres. declares state of emergency, entrusts security to army - Haaretz

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Sat., November 24, 2007 Kislev 14, 5768

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		Lebanese policemen guarding the country's parliament in Beirut on Friday. (AP)

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Last update - 21:16 23/11/2007

Lebanese Pres. declares state of emergency, entrusts security to army

By The Associated Press

Tags: Hezbollah, Syria

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud ordered the army Friday to take over security powers in Lebanon, saying the country is in a state of emergency, hours before he was stepping down without a successor and leaving the divided country in a political vacuum.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said, however, that the cabinet had rejected the president's order for the army to take over security powers.

The president cannot declare a state of emergency without approval from the government, but Lahoud's spokesman said the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is considered unconstitutional.

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"The president of the republic declares that, because a state of emergency exists all over the land as of Nov. 24, 2007, the army is instructed to preserve security all over the Lebanese territory and places all the armed forces at its disposal," presidential spokesman Rafik Shalala said.

The statement instructed the army to submit the measures it takes to the cabinet once there is one that is constitutional, he said.

There was no immediate reaction from the Saniora government, which has been meeting at government house in Beirut as the announcement was made at the presidential palace in suburban Baabda.

Lebanon's parliament failed to convene to elect Lahoud's successor as planned Friday, due to a Hezbollah-led opposition boycott.

Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement that the session was postponed for a week until November 30 to give more time for additional consultations to reach a consensus on electing a president.

The opposition-aligned Berri made the decision 30 minutes after the legislature failed to muster the necessary two-thirds quorum to begin voting.

It followed consultations with leaders of the parliamentary majority.

Scheduling another session in a week as talks between the two sides continue will, in all likelihood, defuse for now any potential street confrontations.

While both sides said efforts were underway to prevent a further deterioration, each camp was waiting for the other to make the first move. The failure to elect a new president could throw the country deeper into political chaos and violence.

In the absence of a president, the Siniora's anti-Syrian government takes executive power under the constitution. But the pro-Syrian Lahoud has vowed not to hand his authorities over to Siniora's administration, considering it unconstitutional after all five ministers of the Shiite Muslim community quit a year ago.

"Any step taken by Fouad Siniora to take over the presidency's duties ... within hours the opposition will be on the streets to bring him down by force," warned opposition politician Wiam Wahhab on Hezbollah's al-Manar TV late Thursday.

The most dangerous scenario is that Lahoud could create an alternative government and hand it his power. Siniora's Western-backed government would likely refuse to step aside, leaving Lebanon with two rival governments, much like during the last two years of the 1975-90 civil war.

A compromise possibility is that Lahoud will entrust his security powers to the heads of the military, a move that the government would likely not oppose - effectively putting the situation on hold to allow further talks on a candidate.

"We are giving wide space to the continuation of dialogue and consultations," said Akram Chehayeb of a hard-line faction in the parliament backing Siniora. "We want to preserve civil peace."

Others in the majority said they would not take any drastic measures such as electing one of their own in a simple majority ignoring the opposition
boycott.

Walid Jumblatt, a prominent leader in the majority, said afterwards that he continues to hold out for consensus on a candidate, stressing that the priority was to prevent the political tensions from turning into violence.

"We will continue to work for consensus and national peace," he told reporters.

Ahead of Friday's events, army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman has ordered soldiers not to be lenient or inactive in confronting possible troublemakers, calling on his troops to ignore the politics and listen to the call of duty.

The military has been on alert for several days. On Friday morning, hundreds of troops in tanks, armored carriers and jeeps deployed along intersections leading to the Lebanese capital and around the downtown area where the parliament building is located.

The city was normal, but traffic was lighter than usual. Most schools closed on their own accord and those that did not had few students, with buses arriving empty after parents decided to keep their children home for fear of trouble.

Lawmakers from the majority arrived at parliament for the session Friday in bullet proof cars driven from a nearby hotel where dozens have been seeking refugee for weeks fearing assassination.

The majority, anti-Syrian faction, who hold 68 seats in the 128-member parliament, have been the subject of assassinations over the last two years that many have ascribed to Syrian attempts to whittle down their slim majority in the legislature.

Three previous attempts by the parliament to elect a leader since September failed because of the failure to find a candidate acceptable to both sides.

Rival Lebanese leaders have been unable to reach agreement on a consensus candidate despite intense mediation efforts by European envoys and the United Nations secretary general.

On Thursday night, the foreign ministers of France, Italy and Spain, who together are fielding a majority of the UN peacekeepers in the south of the country, held talks with Lebanese leaders, but to no avail.

Related articles:

Source: Lebanon opposition to skip president election Friday

Lebanon MP: Nasrallah clearing way for more political murders

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1.	Well many of you lebanese seem to want sharia, and that you will	17:25	\|	Johnny	23/11/07

2.	Lebanon deserves it	18:31	\|	I.A. (Lebanese)	23/11/07

3.	Another civil war?	18:39	\|	Conroy	23/11/07

4.	Johnny what are u talking about?	18:48	\|	J	23/11/07

5.	ONE PERSON ONE VOTE	18:58	\|	Arik Silverman	23/11/07

6.	Johnny?? you`re politically ignorant!	20:03	\|	Rita	23/11/07

7.	#5 Democracy when its convinient	20:22	\|	Gili	23/11/07

8.	Peace...	21:16	\|	Albert Seligman	23/11/07

9.	To Gili	21:24	\|	Claude	23/11/07

10.	Will it occur to Bush to deal with Syria?	22:00	\|	Tosefta	23/11/07

11.	Aramaics	22:12	\|	Danny	23/11/07

12.	To Lebanon: hasn`t Hizbollah caused you enough damage?	22:41	\|	Conroy	23/11/07

13.	#1 Johnny in Stockholm	23:14	\|	Johnny in Beirut	23/11/07

14.	Lebanese community in Montreal	23:52	\|	Avrum	23/11/07

15.	Danny---another Lebanese cliche!	00:27	\|	J	24/11/07

16.	Albert what a simplistic version of reality	00:40	\|	J-the prophet	24/11/07

17.	Thank you Avrum	00:45	\|	J-the prophet	24/11/07

18.	Lebanon	01:32	\|	Joseph (Lebanese)	24/11/07

19.	The problem is Lebanese	03:00	\|	Mark Lincoln	24/11/07

20.	Signs of hope	03:07	\|	Mark Lincoln	24/11/07

21.	To Johnny in Beirut Define "fine" in Lebanon	03:08	\|	Will	24/11/07

22.	Mark Lincoln	05:11	\|	Walid	24/11/07

23.	Rita	05:29	\|	Walid	24/11/07

24.	Joseph (Lebanese)	05:35	\|	Walid	24/11/07

25.	to Joseph (Lebanese, NOT) #18	06:23	\|	Lord knowitall	24/11/07

26.	Sir Winston Churchil understood it - read what he wrote:	08:27	\|	MichaelNYC	24/11/07

27.	Walid: liken Lebanon`s convulsions to Somalia`s (among others)	09:18	\|	S	24/11/07

28.	The IAF bombed Beruit and all of Lebanon	09:20	\|	Natallie Durson	24/11/07

29.	Michael NYC	09:28	\|	Walid	24/11/07

30.	To Mark Lincoln and inventions	10:53	\|	I.A.	24/11/07

31.	To Michael NYC	11:01	\|	I.A.	24/11/07

32.	S	11:08	\|	Walid	24/11/07

33.	S #27 and Somalian Islamists	11:08	\|	I.A.	24/11/07

34.	lebanon	11:39	\|	the Teacher	24/11/07

35.	To both (insulters) Walid and I.A.	12:34	\|	S	24/11/07

36.	#35, S	13:23	\|	Cipora Julianna Kohn	24/11/07

37.	S	13:38	\|	Walid	24/11/07

38.	Why it isn`t safe for Israel to have nukes	13:53	\|	Clickfool	24/11/07

39.	I told you before	14:04	\|	dovale	24/11/07

40.	To MichaelNYC	14:12	\|	dovale	24/11/07

41.	Walid, we`ll never agree.	18:18	\|	S	24/11/07

42.	Cipora	18:28	\|	S	24/11/07

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