Franjieh Lashes Out at Bassil, FPM

Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh lashed out Sunday at the Free Patriotic Movement and its chief, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil.

“He who is claiming to be the head of the biggest Christian party in Lebanon is struggling to clinch his (parliamentary) seat,” Franjieh said, in an apparent reference to Bassil.

“We have not sought to eliminate the FPM. To the contrary, they are the ones who tried to eliminate us. Their whole problem with us is that we exist. They believe that you represent a threat to them as long as you exist,” the Marada chief charged.

“The main problem is the presence of a person who is trying to eliminate everyone to become Christians’ only path,” Franjieh added.

He stressed that “restoring (Christian) rights is not about achieving private interests.”

“We must deal with each other ethically and not through the provocative approach that is of no use,” Franjieh said.

Separately, the Marada chief said “a civil state is the solution,” emphasizing that he is a “secular person.”