Adwan Says Gaps Bridged with FPM, Accuses Hizbullah of Impeding Presidential Election
Deputy Lebanese Forces leader and lawmaker George Adwan described on Monday the dialogue between the party and the Free Patriotic Movement as “positive,” stressing that Hizbullah's performance is thwarting the election of a new head of state.
“We have bridged the gaps and the ties are almost normal... The agreement document is almost 80 percent done,” Adwan said in an interview with An Nahar newspaper.
He revealed that the document consists of 17 articles, noting that the LF wrapped up its comments on the paper and will return it to the FPM in 48 hours.
Asked if the document will be adopted in a matter of days, the MP said that the dialogue is not “linked to any dates,” pointing out that talks about formality meetings with the FPM are “inaccurate.”
“The differences will not break the healthy relation that we are looking for with the FPM,” Adwan added.
FPM sources said in comments published in al-Liwaa newspaper that the document indicates the end of a stage and engaging in a new one, which will be crowned in a meeting between FPM chief MP Michel Aoun and LF leader Samir Geagea.
Aoun and Geagea are presidential candidates. Their rivalry and other factors have left Baabda Palace vacant sine President Michel Suleiman's term ended in May last year.
Adwan told An Nahar newspaper that the danger surrounding Lebanon prompted the dialogue between the two Christian rivals, urging for the resumption of all-party talks to safeguard the country.
“The dialogue will be permanent, continuous and unconditional,” the LF official remarked, saying that the party's sharp differences over the presidential crisis are with Hizbullah and not Aoun.
Adwan said that talks with the FPM tackled the principles of the presidential election.
“Amid Aoun's alliance with Hizbullah, there is a fundamental political rift between us,” the lawmaker said, stressing that the LF rejects the memorandum of understanding between the FPM and Hizbullah.
He considered that the memorandum disagrees with the principles of the LF.
Hizbullah and Aoun signed their memorandum of understanding in 2006 as part of their political alliance.
“We either agree to return to the state authority, which requires dialogue or head to the parliament to elect” a new president, he continued.
Adwan accused Hizbullah of obstructing the elections by insisting on pushing forward the candidacy of Aoun to the presidency, slamming statements by the party to either elect the FPM chief or elections wouldn't occur.
“If Aoun is seeking to present himself as a consensual president, then Hizbullah's method submerged this image,” he concluded.
H.K.
G.K.
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