Mashnouq Says Hariri Endorsement of Aoun May be 'Last Olive Branch'

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Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq warned Friday that ex-PM Saad Hariri's endorsement of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun for the presidency could be “the last settlement” that al-Mustaqbal Movement would strike with the other parties in the country.

“Had Wissam been among us nowadays, he would not have hesitated for a moment to realize the meaning of joining a settlement that protects the State, regardless of the prices that are being mentioned,” said Mashnouq at an Internal Security Forces ceremony marking the 4th anniversary of the assassination of Intelligence Branch chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan.

“We do not bargain over our martyrs or their sacrifices and blood, but we also do not lose our compass and we do not destroy what they were martyred for,” Mashnouq added, in the presence of al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri.

“Our fate is to maintain our belief in the choice of the State, even when our faith in the presence of a partner weakens,” he stressed.

Referring to Hariri's Thursday endorsement of Aoun, the minister cautioned that “this could be the last possible settlement in Lebanon.”

“It might be the last olive branch if it turns out that those with whom we are making the settlement are seeking to turn it into a victory and loss equation,” he added.

“What you heard yesterday was clear. It is an attempt to forge a settlement based on a political agreement that sums up the principles for which Wissam al-Hassan and the rest of the martyrs have fallen: protecting the State, reviving institutions, and neutralizing the Lebanese state from the Syrian crisis, and most importantly commitment to the Taef Accord and Lebanon's Arab identity,” Mashnouq went on to say.

In a speech on Thursday, Hariri described his decision to endorse Aoun as a “major political risk” that he is willing to take for the sake of the country.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, 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.

Hariri had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally MP Suleiman 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 have argued 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.

Comments 2
Thumb galaxy 21 October 2016, 18:53

people like mashnouq and hariri should be ashamed of themselves. Using Wisam Hassan's name on the 4th anniversary of his assassination to advance their political agenda is appalling. Michel Aoun referred to Wissam Hassan a week before his assassination in the following terms:
""الي بدق بالتوتر العالي بدنا نفحمه"،

Missing formerlebaniz 22 October 2016, 12:32

I'm surprised he found another branch in this tree. They've been handing them out since 2005 and are yet to learn their lesson.