Aoun Says Shameful to 'Sectarianize' Oil Exploration

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday warned against turning the issue of offshore oil exploration into a distribution of shares among the Lebanese sects.

“The issue of oil has become complicated but we won't disregard the issue. All the Lebanese are awaiting and everything related to oil and gas is being obstructed, such as the issue of cars operating on gas and green diesel,” Aoun said after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc in Rabieh.

“Someone wants 10 (maritime oil) blocs and another wants to contract them out, but let them meet first so that we can know what they want. Why is the meeting being obstructed? All legal experts are saying that the cabinet can convene and take decisions according to the constitutional rules,” Aoun added.

“Do they want to sectarianize oil? This is shameful. Anywhere oil is discovered, it would be for all the Lebanese and let no one dream of dividing the quantity as we have started to smell something fishy in this issue,” he noted.

Aoun went on to say: “Yesterday, we heard a joke saying that (caretaker Energy Minister Jebran) Bassil wants to contract out (maritime oil blocs) in Batroun. This is absurd.”

Turning to the issue of the Syrian refugee crisis, the FPM leader said: “We are being accused of racial discrimination and they're telling us no Syrian refugee must be harassed.”

He said that “the Lebanese stance on the refugees is a stance of begging from the world with the aim of helping them, but this is not the right thing.”

“We want a drastic solution to the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon,” Aoun stressed.

He pointed out that Syria is “18 times bigger than Lebanon and we cannot bear more than our capacity allows.”

“Aren't they able to find an area in Syria for them to reside in?” Aoun wondered.

Asked about the cabinet formation process, Aoun said: “To my knowledge, it's not for the U.S. and Syria to form the cabinet in Lebanon, unless they have spies inside.”

Bassil has urged President Michel Suleiman and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati to hold an extraordinary governmental session to issue two decrees that call for demarcating 10 maritime oil exploration blocs and setting up a revenue-sharing model.

Bassil explained that his step aims at “preserving the oil and protecting it against any local obstruction and any foreign exploitation.”

"Especially against any Israeli exploitation.”