By NNN-KUNA
Beirut : Lebanon’s Shiite Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan has called on the Lebanese people to come together and elect a new president of the republic as a prelude to forming a new government of national unity.
Qabalan, who was speaking during a ritual address to the Lebanese marking the start of the 10-day Ashura Observance Tuesday, said Lebanon would be able to cross the current political straits “through complying with the Arab peace initiative,” which was launched at the latest conference of Arab foreign ministers, which was held in Cairo over the weekend.
“Things cannot continue and should be allowed to continue as they have been,” he said and called for achieving consensus paving the way for ending this “dark episode in Lebanon’s history.”
He urged all sides to halt “provocative statements” and to return to “the language of reason and wisdom.”
He said that, by doing so, the Lebanese would “facilitate a compromise to the political problems in the interest of all the Lebanese.”
The 10-day Ashura observance marks a mourning period for the slaying of Hassan and Hussein, grandsons of Prophet Muhammad.