Gemayel: It's Naive to Think Hizbullah Can Be Shut out of New Government
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel expressed his satisfaction with the appointment of MP Tammam Salam to head a new government, stressing that it should be a “salvation cabinet that brings together all powers,” reported the daily An Nahar Saturday.
He told the daily: “It's naïve to think that Hizbullah can be shut out of the new cabinet.”
He stressed that Hizbullah played a role in devising the Baabda Declaration that was approved in June during a national dialogue session and which calls for keeping Lebanon out of regional conflicts.
On reports that western and European opposition to Hizbullah's participation in a new government, Gemayel said: “These are just media claims seeing as European countries cooperate with Hizbullah ministers at the Agriculture and Administrative Development Ministries.”
The new government should be able “to assume its responsibilities and face local and foreign obligations.”
It must also work on reaching an agreement over a new parliamentary electoral law, “which is a national priority because a lack of agreement on the issue will lead to the cancellation of the elections and take the country towards the unknown,” he remarked.
In addition, Gemayel noted that a salvation government “should not have a political quality.”
The government of Premier Najib Miqati resigned on March 22 over its failure to reach an agreement over the authority to oversee the parliamentary elections and failure to agree on extending the term of former Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi.
Binding parliamentary consultations were held on Friday, and will continue on Saturday, to name a new premier.
The majority of the political powers have so far nominated Salam to assume the post.
06 April 2013, 10:10
00
Amen brother. Christian, Muslim, Sunni, Shia, Druze..We're all Lebanese, khlusna ba2a. Let's work on improving the country and getting a decent economy and to hell with everything else. You may say I'm a dreamer..
06 April 2013, 12:13
34
I just wanna state that all weapons are evil on earth. they bring destruction to the human race. PERIOD. IF hizballah , NOT that god needs a hizb you see HE doesn't need any Hizb at all we need him more than he will need any of US. But highly EXPRESS it would a wonderful if Lebanon and planet earth on a whole if we only just got rid of weapons. The mightiest tool god gave us is our ability to communicate OUR TONGUES. I see weapons as a tool that a bully would use to scare the other party that cant defend itself and has no weapons. From the day of creation of gun powder it has been an evil force. Yes people fought through out history with hand made items they used in battle/ but not like firearms and all sorts of weapons used today.
06 April 2013, 12:59
22
music66, are you actually from planet earth? Plus guns don't kill people, people kill people.
06 April 2013, 14:55
13
The article says "the West and Europe" want to exclude Hezbullah. It is these same nations (but not all the people in these nations) who place all their trust in "superior firepower".
It reminds me of Thomas Jefferson, himself a slave-owner, who said, "Make no mistake, slavery depends on intimidation."
Maybe we are at the day when the slaves can rise up and take their freedom non-violently, by threatening to shut down the economy on which all the "imperial bourgeoisie" (let's call them, for short, "readers of the New York Times") depend for their "kids' education at the Harvard of their choice" and other expensive pipe dreams. If they realize that their "typical daydream" requires that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", it won't be hard for them to say to Israel, "Let my people go". Then the whole house of dictatorship in the middle east will collapse.
06 April 2013, 15:24
13
It's incomprehensible how 'Lebanon' has become a second thought. Everyone is out for their own benefit and what's left behind? Lebanon's true interest.
We bicker and bicker and who benefits, everyone except Lebanon.
Shame on us ...
Gibran once said (and Kennedy quoted) "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country."
What happened to that mentality that fought every invader for the sake of creating and maintaining our identity?
Shame on us because the time will come when it may be too late ...
God bless Lebanon, the true Promised Land.
A faithful Lebanese.
06 April 2013, 20:47
11
OK, let's call it M16, get rid of this gridlock/monopoly of certain families with membership in government portfolio and parliament, and allow intelligent, qualified, smart, caring, educated men and women to rid Lebanon of regional and religious conflict and put Lebanon on the map again.
06 April 2013, 22:33
11
Lebanese are foreigners are we not? All family names in lebanon can be traced to non-lebanese people.
06 April 2013, 22:47
01
Why are you beating around the bush salim, why don't you speak your mind explicitly and be clear. Yes many family names in the Middle Easst trace their roots to Lebanon.
06 April 2013, 22:37
11
What cost us our civil war was the secterian mindset starting with the phalanges that was founded as an anti-muslim party taking nazism and fascism as its role model (check its history and foundation and you will know what i am talking about). Our civil war did not start during the 70:s even. It has been going on ever since more than one sect lived here.
06 April 2013, 22:45
11
Lol at us giving out our hand... when did we ever do that? We get payed to host refugees and our thief politicians steal the money. We charge the refugees extra and we naturalize their rich ones so we can benefit from them and opress their poor ones and then say "we got nothing good from them" when in reality, we took their succesful ones and called them lebanese and poured racism on the non-rich ones.
Its truly sad that two lebanese from oposing camps cant find common ground in unity except for when it comes to blaming foreigners when in reality NOBODY has harmed lebanon more than the so called lebanese. And i say so called because lebanese all have foreign roots.
When will we learn? We are repeating the same misstakes all over again. Takhallouf at its best.
07 April 2013, 05:44
00
jajajajajaja kiserwani, u got it in the bullseye.... nescafe is all he cares about. giving money to the jews since the jews control that brand name.
