The Maronite bishops met on Wednesday in the presence of Patriarch Bechara Rai. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Lebanon's Maronite bishops issued a statement Wednesday warning against the "obstruction" of the probe into the Aug. 4 2020 Beirut port explosion and the "arbitrary arrests of relatives of victims," the National News Agency reported.
The statement comes after the recent summons of some of the victims' relatives by State Security and Judicial Police. These summonses as well as the brief detention of William Noun — activist and brother of one of the victims — stirred national controversy.
At the end of their monthly meeting held in the presence of Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai in Bkirki, the bishops also called on "political leaders not to intervene at the level of the judiciary, especially with the arrival of European magistrates," in reference to the visit of a French judicial delegation that arrived in Lebanon this week to investigate the death of two French citizens killed by the port explosion.
The bishops also expressed their fears of "an indefinite postponement of the presidential election" and denounced a "constitutional crisis concerning the caretaker government."
"According to the law, the head of government does not have the right to convene a cabinet session without the approval of the members of his cabinet," the statement continued. "Nor does he have the right to issue decrees without the signature of all ministers."
On this point, the bishops appear in agreement with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and its leader, Gebran Bassil.
The FPM accuses caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati of arrogating the prerogatives of the president by convening a cabinet meeting while the government is in caretaker status. Mikati has also been criticized for issuing decrees that do not include the signatures of all the ministers concerned.
The Maronite bishops also "warned against the intentional vacuum in the positions reserved within the administration for Maronites in particular and Christians in general," and denounced "a desire to change the identity of Lebanon."
On Sunday, Patriarch Rai warned against a vacancy in Christian posts. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah criticized these remarks in a speech Tuesday evening and cautioned against sectarian tensions.