BEIRUT: Lebanon s army commander warned feuding political factions in remarks published Thursday that he would bow out of the presidential race and leave his post by midsummer, if the two sides continue wrangling and his election as compromise candidate is not secured by then. The threat by Gen. Michel Suleiman to quit as army chief - at least three months before officially retiring - was viewed as an ultimatum to both the anti-Syrian parliament majority and the Syrian-backed opposition to break the deadlock that has left Lebanon without a president since November. A resignation by Suleiman would certainly worsen Lebanon s 16-month-old political crisis, its worst since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. The army under Suleiman has been neutral in the ongoing power struggle between the pro-government and opposition groups. The two opposing sides have supported the 59-year-old Suleiman as a consensus candidate to end a dangerous power vacuum after pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud s term ended in November without a successor elected. But Suleiman s election has been held up by political bickering in Parliament between the Western-backed majority bloc and the Hezbollah-led opposition over power-sharing in a future government. In the interview Thursday in As-Safir daily, which is close to the opposition, Suleiman said he had had enough of the continued polarization between the opposing sides and that he felt his dignity was hurt over the hold up of his election. Suleiman said he will not wait until the last day of his military service on Nov. 21 to retire. Instead, he has decided he would quit as army chief on Aug. 21, three months before retirement, by taking accumulated vacation days, As-Safir said. The paper described the decision as a highly explosive political bomb that could also scuttle an Arab foreign ministers plan adopted in Egypt in January to solve the Lebanese crisis. The plan calls for the election of Suleiman as a consensus president, formation of a national unity government and the adoption of a new electoral law. Suleiman said he would hold all (factions) responsible and make them understand that the continuation of the current situation will lead to a daily exhaustion of the army and also the exhaustion of the Lebanese who are fed up with politics and politicians. The presidential impasse has compounded the yearlong fierce power struggle between the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora and the opposition, which has sporadically degenerated into street clashes in Beirut between supporters of the rival camps. The United States and Lebanon s anti-Syrian coalition have accused Syria of blocking the presidential election. Damascus has denied the charge, while its Lebanese allies have blamed Washington for scuttling attempts at reaching a solution.
