Naharnet

Geagea Says Hizbullah Revealed its True Colors, Calls for Swift Formation of Cabinet

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Tuesday that Hizbullah revealed its true colors and is acting according to its own will, pointing out that the cabinet must be swiftly formed to end the paralysis in the country.

“Hizbullah has set its strategy and is bluntly contradicting the laws and constitution,” Geagea said via Skype during the LF annual convention in Melbourne, Australia.

He noted that the party “doesn't want cover or support from any Lebanese side and will go on with what it believes despite our points of view.”

Hizbullah has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian regime against rebels seeking the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

The conflict, pitting a Sunni-dominated rebel movement against Assad, has raised sectarian tensions in Lebanon and Lebanese Sunni fighters have also been killed while fighting alongside Syrian rebels.

Several politicians have called on Hizbullah to abide by the Baabda declaration that calls for disassociating Lebanon from regional conflicts, and to maintain Lebanon's best interest.

The Baabda Declaration was unanimously adopted during a national dialogue session in June 2012. It calls for Lebanon to disassociate itself from regional crises, most notably the one in Syria.

Lebanese parties are sharply divided over the crisis in Syria as the March 8 alliance continuously expresses its support to Assad, while the March 14 camp voices its support for the popular revolt.

Geagea called for the swift formation of the cabinet that abides by the constitution and not “foreign strategies.”

He also pointed out that the upcoming presidential elections should be free and not based on compromises

“Whoever wants to run for presidency is his right,” Geagea said.

The LF leader said that coordination is ongoing in the March 14 coalition, saying that the “general situation in difficult and delicate but not hopeless.”

In September, President Michel Suleiman said that he would challenge the extension of his mandate if the parliament took such a move amid soaring political tensions and the failure to form a new government.

His term ends in May 2014.


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