Aoun Opposes Govt. Change: Saqr Must Be Put on Trial

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun rejected on Tuesday calls for a change in government and slammed the recent audio recordings revealing an arms deal being made between Mustaqbal MP Oqab Saqr and a member of the Syrian opposition.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “Saqr must be put on trial.”

“Saqr and his March 14 allies are boasting about providing arms to the Syrian rebels,” he added.

“They had the nerve to demand the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in the past and they are now fighting them in Syria,” the MP remarked.

Syrian troops ended a nearly 30-year presence in Lebanon in 2005 in the wake of the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri.

“The Syrians are our brothers. We hope that they will learn from the mistakes that were committed in Lebanon and resort to dialogue instead of violence,” stressed Aoun.

“I am not willing to support the consequences of Lebanese meddling in Syrian affairs,” he added.

Taped conversations of Saqr and Abou Nehman, a “leader in the armed Syrian opposition,” aired last week.

They revealed that the two were carrying out a weapons deal.

General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi tasked on Tuesday the Central Criminal Investigations Bureau with examining the audio recordings.

Addressing opposition demands for a change in government, Aoun said: “Should we resign from cabinet given the difficult situation in the country?”

“We have a hard time forming a new government during normal circumstances,” he stated.

Certain rules need to be followed to achieve the change, he explained.

Commenting on the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau demand for text messages exchanged between the Lebanese two months before the assassination of Bureau head Wissam al-Hasan, Aoun remarked: “The cabinet will not approve the demand.”

Concerned judicial authorities rejected the request and the cabinet will also reject it, he stressed.

“Cabinet cannot tolerate constitutional violations and we oppose meddling in the people's privacy,” he said.

Media reports said on Monday that the security agencies filed a request to obtain all the circulating text messages between the Lebanese that occurred two months before Hasan's murder.

He was killed in a massive car bomb in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district on October 19.

Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi and Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui have rejected the request, added Aoun.

Timeline
  • 04 December 2012, 17:18

    Aoun on possible government change: I refuse a change in government. There are rules that need to be followed to achieve such a goal.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:17

    Aoun on parliamentary electoral law: I call on Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to approve the Orthodox Gathering law.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:15

    Aoun: There is no point in returning to dialogue as long as those concerned are not willing to resume the talks.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:14

    Aoun: I demand legal action against those MPs because they are a committing a crime.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:14

    Aoun: I am not willing to support the consequences of Lebanese meddling in Syrian affairs.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:13

    Aoun: The Syrians are our brothers. We hope that they will learn from the mistakes that were committed in Lebanon and resort to dialogue instead of violence.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:12

    Aoun: I cannot tolerate such actions. They had the nerve to demand the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in the past and they are now fighting them in Syria.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:11

    Aoun: MP Oqab Saqr and his March 14 allies are boasting about providing arms to the Syrian rebels.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:09

    Aoun: We will only listen to what has to be said at parliament.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:09

    Aoun: We will defend the constitution through all possible means.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:08

    Aoun on national dialogue: The parliament boycott and street action are an attempt to topple the political system in Lebanon.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:07

    Aoun on Syrian refugees in Lebanon: The released numbers are wrong as hundreds of thousands of Syrians have arrived in Lebanon.

  • 04 December 2012, 17:06

    FPM leader MP Michel Aoun after Change and Reform bloc weekly meeting: We cannot accept the ISF Intelligence Bureau request to obtain text messages exchanged between the Lebanese because it is unconstitutional.

SourceNaharnet
Comments 57
Default-user-icon Thomas Boulos (Guest) 04 December 2012, 17:12

there is a boy from the north
he talks like the ass of a horse
his cop brain was shaken
when someone he was chasing
dropped an Excelsior 960 Magnante on his head

Thumb geha 04 December 2012, 17:25

"They had the nerve to demand the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in the past "

so you fpmers: what do you have to say about this? was it wrong to demand the withdrawal of the Syrian troops from Lebanon?
this guy is in deep problem now that his master is going away :)
he is clinging to power because he knows he will not have it anymore :)

Missing helicopter 05 December 2012, 03:04

F.T., if you want to see hate look at the photo of Aoun.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “Saqr must be put on trial.”......... go ahead General give Saqr the same kind of trial you gave Wisam Hasan and others before him and teach us all about love that F.T. is preaching.

Default-user-icon Comisiyangeh Bassil (Guest) 04 December 2012, 17:30

God bless General Aoun for teaching me all he knows about stealing, defense of my 30%, and opposition to Chantal's living in poverty because I'm too dumb to earn an honest living. Today he's teaching me all about how one could run away faster without the wife and kids while carrying suitcases full of unlawfully obtained cash. On handy technique he taught me so far, the wife and kids will keep quiet once they find some of that cash in their foreign bank accounts.

Thumb bigsami 04 December 2012, 17:31

and let's not forget.....clueless about "democracy"!

Thumb bigsami 04 December 2012, 17:33

Here we go again the schizo Farsi non-Lebanese making comments about 'conditioned" while he is the first & only pre-wired zombie on this entire site that cries "HA....help us from Israel....ya mama". Pathetic!

Thumb bigsami 04 December 2012, 20:04

Farsi Motormouth aka BSthrower states: "what's pathetic bigsami, is that you've been posting the same identical comments for months"

And I will continue to drill it into your thick skull till you WAKE-UP and realize that HA is NO RESISTANCE against Israel! It is a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard placed on our soil to protect Iran's barbaric regime! HA is a mere servant of this totalitarian state and could care less about Lebanon. You and your likes are FROZEN in time and too dumb to realize that there is no room for terrorists waging war on everyone through weapons & aggression. Get over it. The world needs peace and your beloved group that you worship is all about SUPPRESSION! So yes....I will continue to repeat: HA is EVIL!

Default-user-icon Le Phenicien (Guest) 04 December 2012, 17:36

all the above affirmations make sense unless the one making them is a confirmed pathological liar, embezzler, senile army deserter and Photoshop enthusiast

Thumb LEBhasNOhope 04 December 2012, 17:36

"I cannot tolerate such actions. They had the nerve to demand the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in the past and they are now fighting them in Syria." of course you cannot tolerate such actions. THIS IS SOMETHINGH YOU MISERABELY FAILED AT and now someone else has been able to accomplish it. Stew on that!

Thumb LEBhasNOhope 04 December 2012, 17:48

We need to have our beloved country FREE of syrian control. The only way to do that is to fight fire with fire. They are getting a taste of their own medicine and it sure as hell it is bitter. for all the lives they have taken from us, for all the suffering they have caused to us, I hope it is returned to them 10 fold! anyone who truly loves their country more than their own pocket would not support the current regime in syria and I don't care which M you belong to and anywhere in between.

Missing lebcan 04 December 2012, 18:26

@FT you say ... The people in the FSA are the ones who occupied us!!!
At that time the syrian army was Under the COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE Ba'ath party you retard... In effect and considering the Ba'ath parties relations it was Iran Syria and Israel who did and in some form still do occupy this great country...
PEOPLE + ARMY = Resistance!!!

Thumb LEBhasNOhope 04 December 2012, 18:31

working extra hard on PR control I see. Yes the FSA are ex-syrian army that occupied us. They were taking orders from their masters, the same ones they are trying to eliminate right now and they are too busy killing each other than killing us. I just don't see how this isn't a win-win. yes, you are correct that I dislike Aoun, but not for any reason you think of. I dislike him because he does not practice what he preaches. He is as corrupt as everyone he points his finger at. Also, he has no shame in providing cover for the murderors responsible for the murder of the true HEROS in my avitar for his own gain.

Missing ignoramus 05 December 2012, 07:57

Just like what Hizb is doing. Thank God for both hizb and Saqr for protecting the Lebanese in Syria. For a moment there I was sure Aoun was saying to punish Saqr for involving himself in the Syria conflict, I'm sure it was a large typo, he really was praising them, just like how he praised hizb for going into syria. (Again, I don't want to hear the excuses, the moment Hizb crossed into Syria - even by one inch into syrian territory - they involved themselves. Thank God we have Aoun who is not hypocritical, and who truly cares for Lebanon!

Thumb LEBhasNOhope 05 December 2012, 16:50

FT- aren't you the pot calling the kettle black. you distort facts and accuse me of distorting facts. I clearly said that people that occupied us and the people that ordered them to occupy us are killing each other and to me that is a win-win. You tell me where in that statement I stated someone was acting against their will? BTW, how old are you? did you experience any part of the war or is your pocket more important to you than self respect? leave the syrians alone as they meddel in our affairs, murder anyone who apposes them and ruin our country? why arent those same words aimed at the pople that have done nothing but ruin our country? shame on you! your loyalty is obviously not with your country!

Thumb benzona 04 December 2012, 17:40

Bigsam: my little finger tells me that karim is Christian and is most likely the same person behind FT's avatar.

Default-user-icon Expat (Guest) 04 December 2012, 17:59

Hey general, how about yur buddy Nasrallah, should he not be on trial as well, oe is he off limit???
Be real and give up on the presidency, you will never see it!!!

Thumb benzona 04 December 2012, 18:12

Genera Aoun had my house in Beirut crippled with bullet holes and the last floor completely vanished. He didn't pay for his crimes, and I won't let it go. Time to come back on this amnesty law and charge the culprits.

Thumb benzona 05 December 2012, 01:07

Yes he is, my house was allright compared to other's. Nevertheless, could you remind me HOW MANY YEARS Michel Aoun hid in France? I think our friend Hariri is a plain amateur compared to him. What a coward he was and stil is. Bombing the Syrian positions from far far away, damaging more Lebanese properties than Syrian targets. Shame on him and his followers.

Thumb Lebfrcan 04 December 2012, 18:20

FT, I fully agree that us lebanese need to change for things to improve.
But you can't give the Syrian goverment (both assads) a free pass here, please! If they came to help, they did not, and when asked to leave they only did because of fear from crazy W. Bush

Thumb LebDino 04 December 2012, 18:28

What happened to "innocent until proven guilty" which GA wants to apply for Samaha, but not Saqr? And there is no evidence yet about a weapons deal. The video is just "talk" about it, whereas Samaha was caught red handed with the goods in the car.

Plus, the ones guilty of "medling in Syria" should be Hezb first, as their involvement is clear and documented.

Which Syrians is he talking about? The few ones in power or the millions suffering from that power?

GA just wants to contradict everything just for the sake of doing that. It's a broken record.

Missing gcb1 04 December 2012, 19:24

@LebDino

One, he called for a trial on Saqr, not the imprisonment, so that ultimately implies that he is innocent until PROVEN guilty. Two, regardless of the Samaha case, Saqr was caught red-handed dealing with the Syrian rebels and talking about weapons dealing. To discharge him of that is like saying talking about killing somebody isn't a crime - illogic.

Further, while most of us suspect that Hezb is involved in Syria, there is no documented evidence of their involvement as you claim. We only have the word of rebels that happen to hate Hezb for their support of Assad.

Missing Perestroika 04 December 2012, 19:33

@ gcb1
Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Mousaawi confirmed the deaths of Hezbollah commander Ali Hussein Nassif, also known as Abu Abbas, and several other known members of Hezbollah to The Daily Star" Daily Star, October 03 2012
Hezbollah also confirmed that Abu Abbas was buried on Monday 02 October 2012 in the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon while performing his “jihadist duty,”.

Missing gabby10 04 December 2012, 18:32

Cukoo.....cukoo.....it is Tuesday again. The general has forgotten that the Hezz have had illegal mercenary killers in Syria since the start of the conflict. Put all the hezz on trial mon general.

Hey by the way, which Tuesday was it when ASSad would be victorious? The Damascus airport is shut down now. He is cut off from air supply. He is bombing the capital to "liberate" it. He is finished little general. I know why you are so frustrated. Your money envelopes are stopping and you are hungry for more cash from the Persian axis.

Thumb LebDino 04 December 2012, 18:49

Exactly. Well said.

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 19:00

Hahahah great comeback sami

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 19:01

Aoun on parliamentary electoral law: I call on Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to approve the Orthodox Gathering law

Well we call on you to adopt small constituancies.

Thumb Lebfrcan 04 December 2012, 23:12

Lame reply FT, sorry.

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 05 December 2012, 07:14

i agree.. and i told you that does not mean he has twice the number of supporters... anyways if the smaller one is following the bigger one.. Aoun kilo shibir w noss..

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 19:02

Aoun: I am not willing to support the consequences of Lebanese meddling in Syrian affairs

Did you tell that to hasoon? Oh I forgot. He tells you. You don't tell him.

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 05 December 2012, 07:14

and why didnt he say that when HA came out and admitted it then?

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 19:03

Aoun: I demand legal action against those MPs because they are a committing a crime

I'm actually with you on this one. Trial for okab. And trial for hasoon. Let's do it mon general. Oh what? You are only calling for one side to be punished. What a well trained general you are.

Missing gcb1 04 December 2012, 19:26

He called for a trial on Samaha, who happens to be close allies with Syria. When there is documented evidence, a trial should occur. When it is mere suspicion and no clear-cut evidence (as is the case with the alleged Hezb involvement in Syria), unfortunately that does not require a trial under international law.

Missing Perestroika 04 December 2012, 19:35

@ gcb1
Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Mousaawi confirmed the deaths of Hezbollah commander Ali Hussein Nassif, also known as Abu Abbas, and several other known members of Hezbollah to The Daily Star" Daily Star, October 03 2012
Hezbollah also confirmed that Abu Abbas was buried on Monday 02 October 2012 in the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon while performing his “jihadist duty,”.

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 20:26

Thank you perestroika. Saved me some typing. But you can add to that hasoon openly declaring it.

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 20:58

yeah when a syrian ally is caught with bombs in his car.. recordings of him.. he calls for a trial.. so the judiciary can do its "work" why didnt he call for putting hasoon on trial when he said he was in syria protecting the lebanese in the "border villages" a brain fart describes Aoun in a nutshell.

Thumb Lebfrcan 04 December 2012, 23:14

He can be more specific and name them FT don't you think?

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 19:05

Aoun: MP Oqab Saqr and his March 14 allies are boasting about providing arms to the Syrian rebels.

Again. Hasoon was boasting about it too. And he also mentioned he was proud of it.

Missing gcb1 04 December 2012, 19:28

He was boasting about RECEIVING arms from the regime, not actively using those arms in Syria.

Not saying his alliance with Assad is a good thing, but please let's get our facts straight.

Missing Perestroika 04 December 2012, 19:44

@ gcb1
Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Mousaawi confirmed the deaths of Hezbollah commander Ali Hussein Nassif, also known as Abu Abbas, and several other known members of Hezbollah to The Daily Star" Daily Star, October 03 2012

Media outlets loyal to Hezbollah, including al-Manar television and the moqawama.org website both carried stories acknowledging Nassif's death, which they said had happened as he "carried out his jihadi duties".

Officials in Nassif's home village of Buday suggested that seven other Hezbollah members had recently been wounded in Syria. A separate report claimed that a second Hezbollah member, Zain al-Abidin Mustafa had also been killed "while carring out his obligation". Senior party officials are reported to have traveled from Beirut to attend his funeral in the party's heartland of Baalbek.

Fa please gcb1 ba3erfak 2azka men hek, let's get "your" facts straight!

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 20:27

H so if hasoon is in syria fighting with weapons that syria gave him that does not constitute interference. How foolish you are.

Missing gcb1 04 December 2012, 20:36

@arzak-ya-libnan, I never said Hezb was not interfering. All I said was Nasrallah was boasting about receiving arms from the regime, not about interfering in Syria. So no, I don't think that is foolish as you claim I am.

@perestroika
I suspect that Hezb is involved in Syria. All I said was that there is no strong documented elements, and the article you provided that I haev already read does raise suspicion, but it is not considered "documented" evidence. There is no video or audio tape clearly showing Hezb fighters actively involved in the fighting in Syria. Does that mean they are not involved? No, I never said they are not. I was simply refuting the claim that there is documented evidence of such.

Missing gcb1 04 December 2012, 20:37

@arzak-ya-libnan

As for you calling me foolish, know this: When you insult me for my views, you are not saying much about who I am, but you are saying alot about who you are.

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 20:54

i am insulting your selective memory..and for sure.. my insults do not say much about you.. but it says a bunch about your intelligence.. p-lease refer to jihadist duties that perestrokia mentioned..(love how you completely ignored his statements... and the hasoon speech where he said he is "protecting lebanese in syrian border villages" againget with the facts cause your opinion.. or "views" dont count much.

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 21:00

ya gcb.. look at the video where hasoon is admitting.. is there any more clear cut evidence than admitting it?

Missing gcb1 04 December 2012, 21:53

@arzak-ya-libnan,

Which selective memory do you speak of? I have already said that I suspect Hezb's involvement in Syria. And how did I completely ignore perestroika's article? Did you even read my comment before you responded? So you respond without actually reading my comment and the part that says "I have read the article you provided and it does raise suspicion"? And yet you call ME foolish? Please.

As for what "Hasoon" said, what he said does not qualify as an admission of an official party involvement in Syria. All he actually said was there are residents living in border areas and defending their village outside of the Party's control. Now unless you interpret that in order to fit you pre-determined beliefs, that statement is not an admission of Hezb involvement in Syria (even though I believe they are involved).

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 05 December 2012, 07:17

you suspect... they admit... hmmm whos the one lacking a few brain cells?
and thats the first time i hear that someone admitting it is not proof enough... you must have graduated at the top of your class.

he said he is protecting Border villages INSIDE syria... let that slush around for a bit... might.. just might... eventually sink in.

Missing gcb1 05 December 2012, 16:52

@arzak-ya-libnan

The man who lacks brain cells is the man who reverts to insults in order to disqualify another person's arguments. Not once have I insulted your views, so why do you feel the need to insult me? And in fact we are both in agreement that we believe Hezb is involved in Syria. Yet, you claim that I lack brain cells because I believe what "Hassoon" said does not qualify as an admission, as he has repeatedly denied the Party's involvement in Syria.

But I am done debating with you, as you have proved your lack of maturity in discussing political topics with someone, even if that someone has the slightest difference of views with yours.

And by the way, I am currently a graduate student in a Western university, and received an Honours in my undergraduate study in political science and economics with a Summa Cum Laude honour. So yes, I have graduated at the top of my class, nice of you to realize.

Thumb arzak-ya-libnan 04 December 2012, 19:20

Add to that the pharmacutical scandal run by the brother of an HA minister. Hence HA. Don't tell me he didn't know. Then we will go back to the non-existant HA intel

Missing peace 04 December 2012, 22:05

funny aoun: double standards as usual... didn t he say if i recall that for samaha let it to the judiciary to decide and here he asks for a trial as if he were the judge not for the judiciary to decide....

didn t he call for YEARS for the overthrowing of the assad regime calling it a terrorist regime and now he is outraged that M14 wants that?
didn t he go to the US senate to show evidence of how evil the syrian regime was?
but it is not this old man who is to pity it s his followers who have a very very short memory....

Default-user-icon Truth (Guest) 05 December 2012, 01:14

Saqr should be decorated, promoted into a national hero ! A saint ! He only returned the favour those animals have poured on us for decades, arming every vermine living under the cedar flag, in order to bring down the state ! Return arms to sender! However the F. Karam's of this world who have slept in bed with the Israelis, those who have brought in explosives in their car to blow up more grand national political figures, those who have backstabbed their fellow politicians and blew them up cold bloodiedly and have been caught red handed, those who have provided cover , hid criminals, and promoted them to sainthood, those should be impaled publicly on martyr's square !

Missing helicopter 05 December 2012, 03:00

The voice of Tehran

Missing helicopter 05 December 2012, 03:11

And F.T. of course the Hezb (Islamic resistance) is not sectarian to you, which is why you support it. True role modeling of non-sectarian Lebanese.

Default-user-icon The Truth (Guest) 05 December 2012, 03:44

Lebanese should stop supporting Syrian rebels when Iran and Syria stop supporting terror in Lebanon...

Missing trigger 05 December 2012, 07:13

Lool

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 05 December 2012, 08:43

Everyone relax. There will be no trial.

Missing allouchi 05 December 2012, 14:59

Aoun should be put in a mental institution not a government institution...it's really hard to believe that he has any followers...

Default-user-icon LabnehLover (Guest) 05 December 2012, 16:48

Can't we all just get along?