BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri Sunday said he might call for changing the country’s sectarian-based ruling system if rivalries persist between senior officials from various sects in state institutions.

He decried what he called alleged discrimination against Shiites holding key state posts.

“Let them recognize us at least as a sect. We are not shoe shiners and we are not second- or third-category citizens,” Berri, a Shiite, was quoted as saying by visitors at his Ain al-Tineh residence. “If these practices continue, this sectarian system ought to be changed. I am on a knife’s edge in facing anyone who is sectarian,” he said.

Berri mentioned in particular the long-simmering rift between the head of the Central Inspection Department and the general financial inspector who last month traded blame over the obstruction of the directorate’s work.

CID head George Awwad has been locked in a dispute with CID’s general financial inspector Salah al-Danaf over supervisory body meetings. Awwad said that Danaf has been impeding the meetings, claiming that the general financial inspector and his family have links to corruption files. Danaf has denied the claims.

The CID is responsible for supervising public institutions and handling bidding processes that are related to public civil administration departments. It hasn’t met for almost a year due to sharp differences between the council’s members.

Berri also cited the long-running dispute between the chief of State Security and his deputy over the body’s leadership that has obstructed its work and stopped appointments and promotions. The rift is pitting Maj. Gen. George Karaa, chief of the organization, a Greek Catholic, against his deputy, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Tufayli, a Shiite.

Greek Catholic ministers, backed by the Free Patriotic Movement and Kataeb ministers and some independents, have complained that Karaa has been unable to fully exercise his responsibilities.

“I have asked Prime Minister Tammam Salam to replace the director general of State Security and his deputy. The problem is that they have not agreed on running this institution,” Berri was quoted as saying. He added that he had also asked Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorius Lahham III to name another chief of the State Security body and even name his Shiite deputy without returning to him.Berri said he is determined to call for legislative sessions to pass a host of “urgent and essential draft laws” despite opposition by Christian blocs in the absence of a president. The Kataeb Party bloc has refused to attend any Parliament session before the election of a president, while the FPM and the Lebanese Forces have said they will attend only if a draft electoral law is at the top of the agenda. Berri reiterated his support for an electoral law based on proportional representation. “They want an electoral law that suits them and ensures for them their MPs and a majority. We will only accept proportional [representation] which they will not bear and they will not accept.”

Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai and other Christian spiritual leaders will issue an appeal Monday for the swift election of a president and reactivation of state institutions paralyzed by the 22-month-old vacuum, sources close to Bkirki said. Rai is scheduled to chair a meeting of spiritual heads of Christian communities at his seat in Bkirki, north of Beirut, Monday with the presidential election deadlock and paralyzed in state institutions topping the agenda. “The [Christian] religious leaders will highlight their concerns over the fate of Christians in the region, increasingly threatened by the emergence of extremist Islamist organizations,” a source close to Bkirki told The Daily Star. “However, the top priority for Patriarch Rai and other Christian spiritual leaders remains filling quickly the vacant presidency seat and putting an end to the obstruction of institutions,” the source said.

“They will also call on the government to find solutions to the deterioration socio-economic conditions and environmental problems in light of the eight-month trash crisis gripping the country,” he added.

Rai, increasingly worried about the alleged marginalization of Christians in the public administration, is expected to renew his plea for “partnership and love” among various sects, the source said. “The patriarch will underline the need for Christian participation in the government decision-making.”

The inter-Christian religious meeting in Bkirki comes a day after MP Sleiman Frangieh called on the Maronite patriarch to outline the next president’s qualities. During a visit to the northern city of Tripoli Saturday, Frangieh implicitly lashed out at MP Michel Aoun, saying that the strongest Christian candidate could be dangerous for Lebanon. Heading the largest Christian bloc in Parliament, Aoun considers himself to be the strongest representative of the Christian community. Frangieh rejected accusations that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri had interfered in Christian affairs when he nominated him for the presidency. “When I was nominated for the presidency by Hariri, it was within the criteria set by Bkirki. I am with any person on whom an agreement is reached. When Bkirki puts other criteria [for a president], I will support it,” Frangieh told reporters at the residence of North Lebanon Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar in Tripoli.

Indirectly responding to Aoun, who considers himself as the strong Christian representative, the Marada Movement leader said: “The strongest in a sect could be dangerous for Lebanon. There might be a danger to go ahead with this principle.” Frangieh stressed that a president should have support within his environment and be acceptable by the other parties.

Frangieh has been nominated by Hariri as part of an initiative aimed at filling the vacuum in the country’s top Christian post. However, the initiative has been bogged down after Frangieh’s nomination was rejected by three main Christian parties: the FPM, the LF and Kataeb. Frangieh is standing against Aoun, who is backed by Hezbollah, some of its March 8 allies and the LF. In addition to Hariri, Frangieh’s presidential bid is also supported by Berri, MP Walid Jumblatt and some independent lawmakers.