Naharnet

Geagea Warns All Lebanese Will Hold Arms if Hizbullah Attempts System Change

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has warned that all Lebanese factions would hold arms and confront a possible attempt by Hizbullah to impose a change in the political system.

In an interview with Alriyadh newspaper published on Wednesday, Geagea said: “If Hizbullah considers any such a move then every Lebanese group will hold arms.”

He stressed that any attempt by Hizbullah to make a “constitutional coup” is “totally rejected in Lebanon.”

“The powerful does not impose anything,” he said in response to a question on a possible endeavor by the party to make changes to the Lebanese political system.

Geagea has warned in previous interviews that Hizbullah and its backers are seeking through their demographic size to change the balance created by the Taef Accord.

He said Lebanon has been suffering from a “system crisis,” which could be resolved if Lebanese officials assumed their full responsibilities in guaranteeing the safety of the system and holding onto the Taef.

In Wednesday's interview, the LF chief again denied that he was a candidate for the presidency.

But he said that he is bringing the issue up because the top post has been neglected and marginalized since the end of the civil war in 1990.

“I will continue to discuss about it until we reach serious presidential elections,” he said.

Geagea rejected attempts by the March 8 alliance to push for the candidacy of his rival Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, saying however that he was ready to cooperate with him “to bring a powerful and effective president who can take appropriate decisions.”

President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ends in May 2014 but there are fears that differences and lack of consensus among rival political parties would prevent the parliament from meeting and would lead to a vacuum in the top post.

Geagea warned that “vacuum poses a danger to the Lebanese system.”

“It is the responsibility of the MP to participate in a session to elect the president no matter what his opinion is,” he said. “We will work on making that happen.”


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