Geagea Urges Politicians to Hold onto Taef over 'System Crisis'
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that Lebanon has been suffering from a crisis in its political system over the rejection of a certain party of the Taef Accord.
In an interview with al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Friday, Geagea said: “We are suffering from a system crisis and all other issues are aimed at covering it up.”
“The real reason (for the crisis) is that a certain group does not accept the Taef Accord,” he said.
The crisis could be resolved if Lebanese officials assumed their full responsibilities in guaranteeing the safety of the system, Geagea added.
“It would be wise for everyone to accept the Taef Accord and hold onto it,” he said although he admitted that none of Lebanon's political parties give their consent to it.
“But we have to cope with it to reach a stage that would (allow us) to develop the system from within,” Geagea told al-Joumhouria.
Asked about efforts by some Christian parties to amend the Taef, Geagea said: “The demands of the parties are very contradictory.”
Hizbullah and its backers are seeking through their demographic size to change the balance created by the Taef, he said. “Would they accept to keep their share as it is today?” the LF leader wondered.
He stressed it would be difficult to manage the demands of Hizbullah and those of some Christians to give back to the president the authorities that he enjoyed in the pre-Taef stage.
He described talks on the system crisis as a jump to the unknown.
Turning to the cabinet crisis, Geagea stressed that the LF rejects a proposal made by Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat to give nine ministers to each of the March 8 and 14 camps and six ministers to centrists.
“This equation will not be able to divide seats and will place (the cabinet) in a crisis on the policy statement mainly on the army-people-resistance formula which the March 14 alliance rejects,” he said.
Jumblat said last week that he dropped his support for giving 8 ministers to each of Lebanon's three camps to help resolve the government stalemate and instead suggested giving veto power to both March 8 and 14 through the 9-9-6 formula.
Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam has been unable since April to form a cabinet over conditions and counter-conditions set by the different parties.
Geagea also rejected the 8-8-8 formula, saying only a cabinet in which the ministers are specialized in their fields would be able to govern.
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