Gemayel Warns against Delaying Elections, Urges Parties to Shoulder Their Responsibilities
Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Monday warned that the situation in the country will deteriorate should the June parliamentary elections be delayed.
“Wrong accusations are being launched against several political forces concerning the Orthodox Gathering law, but we have already proposed several other draft laws,” said Gemayel at a press conference held after the weekly meeting of his party's political bureau in Saifi.
“The problem is that we can't achieve consensus over a law that can lead to holding elections on time,” Gemayel added.
But he stressed that the controversial Orthodox Gathering draft law “must not be turned into an excuse.”
“We are in contact with all political forces in a bid to reach consensus over a law that reassures everyone that they will be properly represented in parliament,” Gemayel revealed.
“We are fully confident that all forces will shoulder their responsibilities and the situation in the country will deteriorate should elections be delayed. We must reach a solution and this is what we're trying to do and anyone who doesn't contribute to finding a solution will be judged by history,” Gemayel warned.
He noted that the Phalange Party is in “constant contact” with its allies and will maintain efforts aimed at reaching a positive result.
“We hope Speaker (Nabih) Berri will maintain his stance and will give a chance for good efforts to achieve a solution,” Gemayel added.
And as he admitted that the relations among March 14's components have grown cold, Gemayel pointed out that that “does not affect the core” of the alliance.
“As much as we speed up the approval of an electoral law, we would be mending the ties,” added Gemayel.
Separately, the Phalange leader warned of the unstable security situation in the country. “I don't know to what extent the country can bear this corrosion in the security situation," he said.
Turning to the issue of Lebanese involvement in the Syrian conflict, Gemayel said: "Unfortunately, the principles of the Baabda Declaration and positive neutrality have been breached."
He noted that "change and a solution in Syria can be achieved through dialogue, because it preserves state institutes."
"We need a stable and active Syria, because Lebanon's security depends on that, and we're afraid that extremism will have the upper hand should things keep deteriorating," Gemayel warned.
Commenting on the recent indictment issued in the case of former information minister Michel Samaha and Syrian security chief Ali Mamlouk, Gemayel said: "After the indictment issued in the Samaha-Mamlouk case, how can Lebanese authorities stand idly by at the diplomatic level while a high-ranking (Syrian) official has been accused?"
On the demands of the Syndicate Coordination Committee, which staged a nationwide strike on Monday to condemn the government's procrastination in referring the new wage scale to parliament, Gemayel said: “We are with the syndicates' protest movement. We are a social party and cannot but support their legitimate demands and we regret the fact that the government is not making use of several resources that are at its disposal.”
“The Economic Committees and the central bank are warning against uncalculated steps aimed at funding the new wage scale, but the seaside and riverside properties can generate good revenues as well as the issue of privatizing electricity,” Gemayel added.
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