Lebanese President Emile Lahoud today rejected renewed demands from the anti-Syrian opposition that he resign over the killing of a former prime minister and a prominent journalist.
Mass protests following the February 14th assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri forced Syria to bow to international pressure and end its 29-year military presence in its tiny neighbour.
The killing also sparked calls for Lahoud's resignation, which were renewed after anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir was killed by a car bomb on Thursday.
"I promised the Lebanese people when I was sworn in that I would uphold the constitution and Lebanon's unity," said Lahoud, a close ally of Damascus. "I am keeping my oath until the last minute of my constitutional tenure," he told reporters at the presidential palace just outside Beirut.
Under pressure from Syria, Lebanon's parliament last year voted to extend Lahoud's six-year term by another three years. The extension came days after a UN Security Council resolution demanded Syria pull its forces out of Lebanon. But Maronite Christian Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, a long-time critic of Syria, said ousting Lahoud before the end of general elections would not bring stability to Lebanon.
Elections, spread by region over four weekends, began last week and end on June 19th. "If the president is forced out, would it bring stability to Lebanon?" he asked in his Sunday sermon.
"Do we forget that there are hidden forces that want to prove to the world that Lebanon cannot rule itself?"
Sfeir's remarks prompted the opposition to cancel a planned gathering on Monday at a crossroads leading to the presidential palace to accuse Lahoud of responsibility for the two deaths.