Franjieh, Bassil in War of Words over Christian Representation
Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil engaged in a heated exchange on Monday during and after the national dialogue session that was held in Ain el-Tineh.
“Confining Lebanon to a sole presidential candidate is unacceptable and the decision to force the suspension of dialogue had been taken prior to the session,” Franjieh told reporters after the session following Bassil's announcement that the FPM would boycott the all-party talks.
“We have the courage to say things directly to the other parties. The demands might be righteous but sometimes the approach does not lead to the required result,” the Marada chief said.
“We are against any injustice against Christians and our Christian, national and Arab identity is well-known,” he added.
“I will not eliminate myself” in the presidential race, Franjieh underlined, cautioning that “the coming period will witness a lot of controversy, especially after dialogue was suspended.”
Hitting back at recent remarks by Bassil that the other parties in the cabinet represent only six percent of Christians, Franjieh added: “We acknowledge the FPM's representation but we represent a lot more than six percent. I don't know how the FPM's 'calculator' works.”
“We don't need further obstruction in state institutions,” the northern leader added, noting that he prefers a new extension of Army chief General Jean Qahwaji's term over vacuum in the army's top post.
Bassil for his part said he raised the issue of respecting the National Pact during the session, lamenting that “are practices in state institutions, administrative appointments and the cabinet are not respecting the National Pact.”
The 1943 National Pact is an unwritten agreement that set the foundations of modern Lebanon as a multi-confessional state based on balance between Muslims and Christians.
“The situation cannot continue as it was between 1990 and 2005 when the Christian leaders were absent. Will the government continue functioning if the Progressive Socialist Party leaves it?” Bassil asked.
“Disregard for the National Pact shakes our national belief in coexistence. It is useless to continue our participation in dialogue if they refuse to acknowledge our existence,” the FPM chief added.
“We will not allow a repetition of the 1990s injustice against Christians,” he vowed.
Several media outlets said the dialogue session witnessed a heated exchange of tirades between Bassil and Franjieh over the issue of the National Pact and Christian representation.
“You were appointed as FPM director and you are not its chief since you were not elected,” Franjieh told Bassil, according to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).
“Who are you and what do you represent after you failed in the (Batroun district parliamentary) elections?” Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) quoted Franjieh as saying.
The FPM's latest boycott of cabinet meetings is linked to the thorny issue of military and security appointments. The defense minister has recently postponed the retirement of Higher Defense Council chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir after no consensus was reached over three candidates that he had proposed, angering the FPM which says that it opposes term extensions for all senior officers.
The movement fears that the extension of Kheir's term could pave the way for a new extension of Qahwaji's next month. The army chief's retirement had been postponed in September 2013 and his term was instead extended for two years.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, FPM founder MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.
Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.
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