BEIRUT, Aug 24 (AFP) - Lebanon's Christian and Muslim leaders are showing rare unity against attempts by dominant neighbour Syria to give Lebanese President Emile Lahoud a second term by forcing through a constitutional change.
The heads of the Sunni and Shiite Muslim communities, Rashid Kabbani and Abdul Amir Kabalan respectively, issued a joint statement Monday stressing "the importance of respecting the constitution regarding the election of the president of the republic."
The two muftis added that they hoped that "the results of the presidential election express the will of the Lebanese and strengthen national unity."
Under the constitution as it stands, the president, who is always a Christian and is elected by parliament, cannot serve two successive six-year terms. Lahoud's current mandate runs out in November.
The muftis' statement followed a warning Sunday by Maronite Christian patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir that a change in the constitution would spell an end to democracy in Lebanon.
"People are calling for a constitutional amendment to permit the re-election of the same person as president for an indefinite period, in the way they do in the regimes around us and where the people are hostile to their governments," Sfeir said in his sermon.
"That would bring an end to what little democracy we pride ourselves on in Lebanon."
Without identifying Syria by name, Sfeir criticised the government of President Basher al-Assad for holding what he called "preliminary consultations which took place outside of this country, as if we had lost all soveriegnty and independence in the choice of those who govern us".
Several leading politicians were summoned to Damascus for talks last week and after a meeting with Assad, Lebanese health minister Suleiman Franjieh said he thought Lahoud's chance of re-election now stood at 6 to 4 in favour.
"The statement by the two muftis shows that Lebanese society is unifying and that the Lebanese can run their affairs without outside control," Christian opposition leader Samir Franjieh told AFP.
He said it showed a marked change in the position of the muftis, who in September 2000 refused to back a call by the Maronite hierarchy for Syria to remove the thousands of troops it has based in Lebanon since it intervened in the civil war in 1976.
Another Christian opposition figure, who declined to be identified, said the Muslim leaders had clearly annoyed Damascus, noting that the full statement was apparently censored after some five hours of being broadcast on radio and television.
The new version made no reference to respect for the constitution, which has been amended twice in the past under Syrian pressure.
In 1995, president Elias Hraoui was given another three years, while in 1998 Lahoud, the armed forces commander in chief, was allowed to stand even though he only resigned at the last minute from his former job.
Earlier the leader of the Druze community, Walid Jumblatt, said a new term for Lahoud would "depress" the country, adding that "man has no value without the freedom of choice."
Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, who has battled with Lahoud notably over economic policy, has not spoken publicly on the issue but was to have talks with Sfeir Tuesday.
Syria is also facing the anger of the United States, which has already imposed a number of sanctions against Damascus over its alleged support for the uprising in Iraq and development of weapons of mass destruction.
Washington is unhappy with Lahoud for exactly the reasons that Damascus sees him as an ally, including accepting the continued Syrian military presence in Lebanon, which the United States has begun calling an occupation.
Lahoud also refuses to disarm the Shiite Hezbollah militia which holds sway in southern Lebanon and which Washington considers a terrorist group.