Geagea Says al-Rahi Prefers Strong Presidential Candidate, Doesn't Veto Anyone
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi does not put a veto on any candidate for the presidency.
In terse remarks to al-Liwaa newspaper published on Friday, Geagea said that his ties with Bkirki were excellent and that he was in continuous contact with al-Rahi.
“There are ongoing contacts even if the security circumstances don’t allow me to visit the seat of the Maronite church at this stage,” he said.
“Al-Rahi does not put a veto on any candidate for the presidency,” Geagea told al-Liwaa, which said that the patriarch had intensified his contacts with Maronite leaders either directly or through envoys ahead of next year's elections.
“He doesn't have a specific candidate but he prefers a strong Christian president and hopes for the presidential elections to be held on time to avoid a vacuum,” Geagea said.
President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ends in May 2014.
Al-Liwaa said that al-Rahi was keen on staying at an equal distance from all possible candidates and mainly Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh, the head of the Phalange party, Amin Gemayel, and Geagea.
None of them however has announced his candidacy yet.
According to Lebanon's power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite.
06 December 2013, 11:12
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F t Dr geagea Dr bi ensanito bi tad7iyeto bi somodo 11 bi zenzeni sabeto 3ala khatto lwatani sharaf lakol maroni wa lebneni wa 3arabi lka2ed l3azim lhakim Allah Ye7mi
06 December 2013, 11:23
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Democratie means (power to the people)
its neither sidna el batrak or any other country or intelligence who should appoint our president its the leb people
just make a Christian referendum on the most famous person among Christians to be president and then let the parliament vote and we will see if the Christian MP will follow the decision of their constituent ie the people that vote for them
06 December 2013, 11:36
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trying to associate? In your learned opinion Gaegae is not Christian? Mishmaoul this logic
06 December 2013, 12:21
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FT ... come on already, grow up and argue like an adult.
I agree with you that Geagea is a war criminal. But so are so many other politicians you support including Aoun.
If I am to sink to your level, I can also say Hezbollah is not Lebanese and Aoun is actually Syrian from the start. He was brought up by Syrians, trained by Syrians, faked a Syrian opposition in Lebanon as a way for them to control the opposition... came back to Lebanon as an AntiSyrian (BS) and immediately turned pro-syrian... he has nothing Lebanese...
06 December 2013, 11:40
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F t Dr geagea fat 3ala zenzeni za3im lebnene wtel3 za3im 3arabi bi maser bi tunes bel jaze2er bi l3iraq bi lmamlaki lhashimiye wa lmamlaki larabiyi su3odiyi wal kowet wa kol shar2el 3arabi w7ata bi Iran ello mo7ebin ro7 Allah men3endo Ye3tik Lowe ya Hakim
06 December 2013, 11:52
418
“He doesn't have a specific candidate but he prefers a strong Christian president".
I guess that rules out a worthless Saudi puppet like you.
06 December 2013, 12:17
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Well, Aoun is trying to associate himself to christianity by struggling to appear as the "Savior" of Christians in Syria ... What a holy man !
I don't see why you say "Naharnet trying" to associate Geagea to Christianity though ... this guy has been doing it on his own. This is completely irrelevant ...
06 December 2013, 12:22
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@Southern : You see all your opponents as Zionists or Cannibals or Terrorists. You have an extremely narrow mind...
06 December 2013, 12:30
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No one with Lebanese blood on their hands should consider candidate for the presidency.
06 December 2013, 14:38
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meaning of strong? bel 3adalat u lost n bel intikhabet u lost until u prove us wrong in the next election. el shia dont won't u n el sunna don't want GMA these are the two powers that are running the game thanks to u n GMA if u truly concerned for the christians help in uniting them first abel ma te3rod 3adalatak :))
06 December 2013, 15:29
28
@Dr. Geagea, I respect the fact that you are the most reformed politician/militiaman from the civil war era and I give you credit for choosing Lebanon over any other interest. If you truly love Lebanon please do not under any circumstance run for the presidency; much like Mr. Aoun, you will never ever win and if by some miracle of money and corruption you do win, you will divide the Christians even more than they already are. You sir, come with a lot of baggage that at least half the Christians cannot stomach. Please put your love for Lebanon first and make a pact with Mr. Aoun that for the sake of the Christians of Lebanon who need to reunite now more than ever that neither of you will ever run for president.
06 December 2013, 16:58
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Thank slash...I never left but I limit my comments to the absolute minimum. The verbal abuse on both sides has degenerated to the extent the forum has become an arena for mud slinging and verbal assault on one another. Very alarming, very unfortunate and very disappointing as with discourse like this, we are doomed to repeat the history we are trying to avoid. I want no part of it ;)
06 December 2013, 21:37
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@the1phoenix, trust me I am around and I read here every day. I just choose to only comment when I have something I feel is of value to someone. If I am being honest with you, your generosity of kind words with some individuals who will never ever appreciate your wisdom and experience, leaves me shaking my head...but God bless you for your tolerance.
06 December 2013, 15:39
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Why dont we extend the current presidents tenure until we have the elections because i'm sure the presidency at the moment is the only stable thing.
06 December 2013, 16:19
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@the1phoenix, thx. I have no objection to the extension, I admire and respect the man who has managed to remain a president to all the Lebanese regardless of their daily attacks on him and the presidency from all sides. Please correct me because I am not sure but I believe extensions according to the constitution are considered illegal, correct? I know they've been done before under Syrian tutelage but nevertheless illegal, is this correct? If so, the Lebanese should rally behind a candidate with the label "made in Lebanon" around his neck, not Saudi Arabia or Syria and they should insist it is neither, Amin Gemayel, Suleiman Franjieh, Michel Aoun or Samir Geagea. These four, for the sake of Lebanon, should not under any circumstance be the next president.
06 December 2013, 17:28
13
Keeping Suleiman in his post is a big mistake…
Tough times requires making tough decisions to save a nation… Suleiman is NOT up to that… I agree with Slash... This president is doing NOTHING… It is time for him to go. I mean how can you explain that the government has not been formed for that long, and he is not doing much about it… Suleiman and Salam should have formed a government and let the parliament decide its fates rather sit on the side and hope for a miracle….
06 December 2013, 17:53
11
Slash, Taef stripped the president of most of his former authority but let's say for the sake of argument that it is not the case and the president is very powerful; what you have to do is look at the big picture...what happens to a powerful leader when in the course of doing the right thing for his country he comes into direct conflict with an armed militia that is more powerful than he and the army (an army that might fragment along sectarian lines if forced into action by the the way)??? If you answer this question Slash then you see why in your eyes you feel he didn't do anything. In my eyes he played a role in not allowing the country to slip into civil strife and given the circumstances that is plenty.
06 December 2013, 19:15
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What's the point of Dr. Arreet 7akeh's latest nonsense? art 7akeh for the sake of art 7akeh as always
06 December 2013, 21:44
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slash you are forgetting the MOU between Mr. Aoun and HA, it means half the population is with HA because FPM follows Aoun. Please be a realist and see the situation for what it is. I am not worried about Shiite Sunni strife I am worried about Maronite division which is the worst crisis for Lebanon by far. Christians must now stand united to save the country and send a clear message to Sunni and Shiite that we will no longer help them destroy the country to spite each other LF/Phalange vs Marada/FPM which should abandon their za3eemz and form one political movement.
06 December 2013, 22:41
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minibash Sami, your cousin microbash Nadim is commenting on your comment. What a nice coincidence. Perhaps you can ask him if the koudama are Syrian tools or if he agrees that we should all wait for the Bash to come back from Israel and set the record straight vis-a-vis this matter considering that you are incapable of answering this simple question. Are you a koudama yourself or a joudad?
