Gemayel Says Won't Join 'Presidential Deal' after Hizbullah Given 'Right to Impose Presidents'
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel announced Thursday that his party will vote according to its “firm principles” in Monday's presidential election session and that it “will not take part in the current presidential deal” that will put Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun in the Baabda Palace.
"The last 'made in Lebanon' event was the Cedar Revolution, while this election and the manner in which it is being approached have nothing to do with the Lebanese people's aspirations, seeing as it was reached through the approach of obstruction and coercion,” Gemayel said at a press conference.
“This approach is a dangerous precedent,” he warned, noting that it would send a message that “obstruction leads to victory” in Lebanon.
Gemayel also pointed out that Aoun will not reach the presidency because he is “the strongest Christian candidate” but rather because of “Hizbullah's ethical commitment to his nomination.”
“This election will give Hizbullah the exclusive and sole right to impose presidents on the Lebanese,” Gemayel cautioned.
Referring to the rapprochement between Aoun and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea that contributed to boosting the FPM founder's presidential chances, the Kataeb chief described it as “an electoral alliance based on conflicting foundations.”
“Talk of Christian unity remains meaningless in the absence of a national project endorsed by everyone,” he added.
As for the period that will follow Aoun's election, Gemayel hoped the FPM founder will manage to dissipate Kataeb's “fears” and that his policies will resemble “the same spirit in which we struggled together for a free and independent Lebanon between 1990 and 2005.”
“We promise the Lebanese that we will deal with the new presidential tenure in the same manner you have become used to: we will criticize mistakes and support any step that is part of a Lebanese project,” Gemayel added.
“We reassure everyone that neither the presidential vote nor any political juncture will prevent us from supporting any party that works for real partnership, and accordingly we will be alongside any president in any step aimed at immunizing this partnership,” he went on to say.
“Let no one think that we would shy away from backing any stance targeted at restoring democracy and freedom, limiting the right to possess weapons to the Lebanese army, combating corruption, guaranteeing Lebanon's neutrality, and protecting it from adventures,” Gemayel stressed.
Gemayel had repeatedly reiterated that Kataeb would not vote for a candidate endorsing the political vision of the Hizbulllah-led March 8 camp, in reference to both Aoun and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh.
Gemayel's stance on Thursday indicates that Kataeb's five MPs will cast blank votes.
Aoun was tipped to become president after al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri formally endorsed him last Thursday.
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 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 nomination 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.
27 October 2016, 20:18
17
الجميل: اصبح المعيار الذي نستخلصه ان على المرشحين للرائسة ان يبتنوا سياسة حزب الله.
الجميل: هذا الانتخاب يعطي حزب الله الحق الحصري والاحادي بفرض الرئيس على اللبنانيين.
الجميل: من أمن وصول عون الى الرئاسة ليس كونه المسيحي الاقوى انما هو قرار حزب الله بالالتزام الاخلاقي معه.
You deserve all the respect Sami for being the exception to the rule in this jungle of corrupt politicians.
27 October 2016, 20:31
16
Gemayel: This election will give Hizbullah the exclusive and sole right to impose presidents on the Lebanese.
not only in this election but it sets a precedence for every presidential election in the future. Don't be surprised if Hezbollah insists on having a bassil as president in the next elections.
27 October 2016, 20:44
71
Gemayel said, "The rule by the majority would not be a problem if we had completed our historic Christian duty of eliminating Muslims from Lebanon." Shia Muslims make up more than half the Lebanese population according to Noan Chomsky, and Sunnis, roughly another quarter. Gemayel was speaking to fellow powerless Lebanese warlords during a recent ski holiday in his native Switzerland.
27 October 2016, 21:44
13
22 July 2015
“Iran wants a new president to serve Hizbullah's interests, not Lebanon's,” Geagea added.
“It is therefore exerting pressure to ensure the election of a president who agree with its views,” he explained to the daily.
“The rise of a Lebanese state is not among Iran's priorities,” Geagea lamented.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/185348
Now, the same Geagea says Aoun is 100% made in Lebanon:)!!!!
27 October 2016, 21:56
03
March 21, 2012
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea launched a scathing attack against the Change and Reform bloc, saying that its ministers in government were corrupt.
“The thing that saddens me the most these days is that those who spoke diligently about corruption for the past 20 years proved to be the most corrupt in Lebanon’s history after taking charge of sensitive ministries in the government,” Geagea told a delegation of doctors in Meerab, north of Beirut.
http://yalibnan.com/2012/03/21/geagea-says-aoun-and-his-political-party-are-corrupt-hypocrites/
27 October 2016, 22:29
01
Why does Naharnet insist on putting the last sentence of this article in every single article concerning the presidency for the past year!!!
I am not against the rapprochment geagea Aoun. But I think that Sami's stance is commendable. HA is the source of all ills of Lebanon, and nothing positive will happen as long as HA are holding lebanese decision making hostage to their party needs.
27 October 2016, 22:30
01
Why does Naharnet insist on putting the last sentence of this article in every single article concerning the presidency for the past year!!!
I am not against the rapprochment geagea Aoun. But I think that Sami's stance is commendable. HA is the source of all ills of Lebanon, and nothing positive will happen as long as HA are holding lebanese decision making hostage to their party needs.
27 October 2016, 22:30
01
Why does Naharnet insist on putting the last sentence of this article in every single article concerning the presidency for the past year!!!
I am not against the rapprochment geagea Aoun. But I think that Sami's stance is commendable. HA is the source of all ills of Lebanon, and nothing positive will happen as long as HA are holding lebanese decision making hostage to their party needs.
27 October 2016, 22:41
10
They are all the same. Kabou el Kataeb bil jneineh, this is why, completely insignificant party? He forgot that his President father Amin Gemayel was one of the most corrupt president in the history of Lebanon. He forgot how many time his father kissed Hafez hand and feet.
27 October 2016, 23:55
02
I have left Geagea since he made his Historical mistake...he just doesn't have the foggiest idea of the paranoia and supermegalomania of NapoleAoun...
28 October 2016, 08:48
01
Fully agree with what he said: ""The last 'made in Lebanon' event was the Cedar Revolution, while this election and the manner in which it is being approached have nothing to do with the Lebanese people's aspirations, seeing as it was reached through the approach of obstruction and coercion,” Gemayel said at a press conference."
